

ChapterII

EMPIRES

AnEmpireAcrossThreeContinents

TheCentralIslamicLands

NomadicEmpires

EMPIRES

OverthetwomillenniathatfollowedtheestablishmentofempiresinMesopotamia,variousattemptsat

empire-buildingtookplaceacrosstheregionandintheareatothewestandeastofit.

By the sixth century bce, Iranians had established control over major parts of the Assyrian empire.

Networksoftradedevelopedoverland,aswellasalongthecoastsoftheMediterraneanSea.

IntheeasternMediterranean,Greekcitiesandtheircoloniesbenefitedfromimprovementsintradethat

weretheresultofthesechanges.Theyalsobenefitedfromclosetradewithnomadicpeopletothenorthof

theBlackSea.InGreece,forthemostpart,city-statessuchasAthensandSpartawerethefocusofcivic

life.FromamongtheGreekstates,inthelatefourthcenturybce,therulerof thekingdom ofMacedon,

Alexander,undertookaseriesofmilitarycampaignsandconqueredpartsofNorthAfrica,WestAsiaand

Iran, reaching up to the Beas. Here, his soldiers refused to proceed further east. Alexander’s troops

retreated,thoughmanyGreeksstayedbehind.

Throughout the area under Alexander’scontrol, ideals and cultural traditions were shared amongstthe

Greeksandthelocalpopulation.Theregiononthewholebecame‘Hellenised’(theGreekswerecalled

Hellenes), and Greek became a well-known language throughout. The political unity of Alexander’s

empire disintegrated quickly after his death, but for almost three centuries after, Hellenistic culture

remainedimportantinthearea.Theperiodisoftenreferredtoasthe‘Hellenisticperiod’inthehistoryof

theregion,butthisignoresthewayinwhichothercultures(especiallyIraniancultureassociatedwiththe

old empire of Iran) were as important as – if not often more important than – Hellenistic notions and

ideas.

Thissectiondealswithimportantaspectsofwhathappenedafterthis.

Small but well-organisedmilitaryforcesofthecentralItaliancity-stateofRometookadvantageof the

political discord that followed the disintegration of Alexander’s empire and established control over

North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean from the second century bce. At the time, Rome was a

republic.Governmentwasbasedonacomplexsystemofelection,butitspoliticalinstitutionsgavesome

importance to birth and wealth and society benefited from slavery. The forces of Rome established a

networkfortradebetweenthestatesthathadoncebeenpartofAlexander’sempire.Inthemiddleofthe

first century bce, under Julius Caesar, a high-born military commander, this ‘Roman Empire’ was

extendedtopresent-dayBritainandGermany.

Latin(spokeninRome)wasthemainlanguageof theempire,though manyintheeast continuedtouse

Greek, and the Romans had a great respect for Hellenic culture. There were changes in the political

structure of the empire from the late first century bce, and it was substantially Christianised after the

emperorConstantinebecameaChristianinthefourthcenturyce.

RuinsatGreekcityofCorinth.

Tomakegovernmenteasier,theRomanEmpirewasdividedintoeasternandwesternhalvesinthefourth

centuryce.Butinthewest,therewasabreakdownofthearrangementsthatexistedbetweenRomeandthe

tribes in frontier areas (Goths, Visigoths, Vandals and others). These arrangements dealt with trade,

military recruitment and settlement, and the tribes increasingly attacked the Roman administration.

Conflicts increased in scale, and coincided with internal dissensions in the empire, leading to the

collapseoftheempireinthewestbythefifthcenturyce.Tribesestablishedtheirownkingdomswithin

theformerempire,though,withthepromptingoftheChristianChurch,aHolyRomanEmpirewasformed

from some of these kingdoms from theninth century ce.This claimedsome continuity with the Roman

Empire.

Betweentheseventhcenturyandthefifteenthcentury,almostallthelandsoftheeasternRomanEmpire

(centredonConstantinople)cametobetakenoverbytheArabempire–createdbythefollowersofthe

ProphetMuhammad(whofoundedthefaithofIslamintheseventhcentury)andcentredonDamascus–or

byitssuccessors(whoruledfromBaghdadinitially).TherewasacloseinteractionbetweenGreekand

Islamictraditionsintheregion.Thetradingnetworksoftheareaanditsprosperityattractedtheattention

ofpastoralpeoplestothenorthincludingvariousTurkictribes,whooftenattackedthecitiesoftheregion

and established control. The last ofthese peoples toattack the area and attempttocontrol it were the

Mongols,underGenghisKhanandhissuccessors,whomovedintoWestAsia,Europe,CentralAsiaand

Chinainthethirteenthcentury.

Alltheseattemptstomakeandmaintainempiresweredrivenbythesearchtocontroltheresourcesofthe

tradingnetworksthatexistedintheregionasawhole,andtoderivebenefitfromthelinksoftheregion

withotherareassuchasIndiaorChina.Alltheempiresevolvedadministrativesystemstogivestability

totrade.

TheGreatMosque,Damascus,completedin714.

Theyalsoevolveddifferenttypesofmilitaryorganisation. Theachievementsofoneempirewereoften

taken up byitssuccessor. Overtime, theareacame to bemarkedbyPersian, Greek,Latin and Arabic

abovemanyotherlanguagesthatwerespokenandwritten.

Theempireswerenotverystable.Thiswaspartlyduetodisputesandconflictoverresourcesinvarious

regions.Itwasalsoduetothecrisisthatdevelopedinrelationsbetweenempiresandpastoralpeoplesto

thenorth–fromwhomempiresderivedsupportbothfortheirtradeandtoprovidethemwithlabourfor

productionofmanufacturesandfortheirarmies.Itisworthnotingthatnotallempireswerecity-centric.

TheMongolempireofGenghisKhanandhissuccessorsisagoodexampleofhowanempirecouldbe

maintainedbypastoralpeopleforalongtimeandwithsuccess.

Religionsthatappealedtopeoplesofdifferentethnicorigins,whooftenspokedifferentlanguages,were

importantinthemakingoflargeempires.ThiswastrueinthecaseofChristianity(whichoriginatedin

Palestineintheearlyfirstcenturyce)andIslam(whichoriginatedintheseventhcenturyce).



TimelineII

(c.100bceto1300ce)

This timeline focuses on kingdoms and empires. Some of these such as the Roman Empire were very

large, spreading acrossthree continents.This was also the time whensomeof the majorreligious and

culturaltraditionsdeveloped.Itwasatimewheninstitutionsofintellectualactivityemerged.Bookswere

writtenandideastravelledacrosscontinents.Somethingsthatarenowpartofoureverydayliveswere

usedforthefirsttimeduringthisperiod.



ACTIVITY

Tryandidentifyatleastfiveevents/processesthatwouldhaveinvolvedthemovement

ofpeoplesacrossregions/continents.Whatwouldhavebeenthesignificanceofthese

events/processes?

THEME3

AnEmpireAcrossThreeContinents

TheRomanEmpirecoveredavaststretchofterritorythatincludedmostofEuropeasweknowittoday

andalargepartoftheFertileCrescentandNorthAfrica.Inthischapterweshalllookatthewaythis

empire was organised, the political forces that shaped itsdestiny, and the social groupsinto which

peopleweredivided.Youwillseethattheempireembracedawealthoflocalculturesandlanguages;

that women had a stronger legal position then than they do in many countries today; but also that

much of the economy was run on slave labour, denying freedom to substantial numbers of persons.

From the fifth century on, the empire fell apart in the west but remained intact and exceptionally

prosperousinitseasternhalf.Thecaliphatewhichyouwillreadaboutinthenextchapterbuiltonthis

prosperityandinheriteditsurbanandreligioustraditions.

Roman historians havearichcollectionofsources to go on, which we canbroadly divide into

threegroups:(a)texts,(b)documentsand(c)materialremains.Textualsourcesincludehistories

oftheperiodwrittenbycontemporaries(thesewereusuallycalled‘Annals’,becausethenarrative

was constructed on a year-by-year basis), letters, speeches, sermons, laws, and so on.

Documentary sources include mainly inscriptions and papyri. Inscriptions were usually cut on

stone,soalargenumbersurvive,inbothGreekandLatin.The‘papyrus’wasareed-likeplantthat

grewalongthebanksoftheNileinEgyptandwasprocessedtoproduceawritingmaterialthat

was very widely used in everyday life. Thousands of contracts, accounts, letters and official

documents survive ‘on papyrus’ and have been published by scholars who are called

‘papyrologists’. Material remains include a very wide assortment of items that mainly

archaeologists discover (for example, through excavation and field survey), for example,

buildings,monumentsandotherkindsofstructures,pottery,coins,mosaics,evenentirelandscapes

(forexample,throughtheuseofaerialphotography).Eachofthesesourcescanonlytellusjustso

much about the past, and combining them can be a fruitful exercise, but how well this is done

dependsonthehistorian’sskill!

Papyrusscrolls

Two powerful empires ruled over most of Europe,North Africa and the Middle East in the period

between the birth of Christ and the early part of the seventh century, say, down to the 630s. The two

empireswerethoseofRomeandIran.TheRomansandIranianswererivalsandfoughtagainsteachother

formuchoftheirhistory.Theirempireslaynexttoeachother,separatedonlybyanarrowstripofland

thatranalongtheriverEuphrates.InthischapterweshallbelookingattheRomanEmpire,butweshall

alsorefer,inpassing,toRome’srival,Iran.

Ifyoulookatthemap,youwillseethatthecontinentsofEuropeandAfricaareseparatedbyaseathat

stretchesallthewayfromSpaininthewesttoSyriaintheeast.ThisseaiscalledtheMediterranean,and

itwastheheartofRome’sempire.RomedominatedtheMediterraneanandalltheregionsaroundthatsea

inbothdirections,northaswellassouth.Tothenorth,theboundariesoftheempirewereformedbytwo

greatrivers,theRhineandtheDanube;tothesouth,bythehugeexpanseofdesertcalledtheSahara.This

vaststretchofterritorywastheRomanEmpire.IrancontrolledthewholeareasouthoftheCaspianSea

downtoeasternArabia,andsometimeslargepartsofAfghanistanaswell.Thesetwosuperpowershad

dividedupmostoftheworldthattheChinesecalledTaCh’in(‘greaterCh’in’,roughlythewest).

Map1:EuropeandNorthAfrica

TheEarlyEmpire

The Roman Empire can broadly be divided into two phases, ‘early’ and ‘late’, divided by the third

century as a sort of historical watershedbetween them. In other words, the whole perioddown to the

mainpartofthethirdcenturycanbecalledthe‘earlyempire’,andtheperiodafterthatthe‘lateempire’.

A major difference between the two superpowers and their respective empires was that the Roman

Empire was culturally much more diverse than that of Iran. The Parthians and later the Sasanians, the

dynasties that ruled Iran in this period, ruled over a population that was largely Iranian. The Roman

Empire, by contrast, was a mosaic of territories and cultures that were chiefly bound together by a

common system of government. Many languages were spoken in the empire, but for the purposes of

administrationLatinandGreekwerethemostwidelyused,indeedtheonlylanguages.Theupperclasses

oftheeastspokeandwroteinGreek,thoseofthewestinLatin,andtheboundarybetweenthesebroad

languageareasransomewhereacrossthemiddleoftheMediterranean,betweentheAfricanprovincesof

Tripolitania (which was Latin speaking) and Cyrenaica (Greek-speaking). All those who lived in the

empireweresubjectsofasingle ruler, theemperor, regardlessofwheretheylivedandwhatlanguage

theyspoke.

*TheRepublicwasthenameforaregimeinwhichtherealityofpowerlaywiththeSenate,abodydominatedbyasmallgroupof

wealthyfamilieswhoformedthe‘nobility’.Inpractice,theRepublicrepresentedthegovernmentofthenobility,exercisedthroughthe

bodycalledtheSenate.TheRepubliclastedfrom509bcto27bc,whenitwasoverthrownbyOctavian,theadoptedsonandheirof

Julius Caesar, who later changed his name to Augustus. Membership of the Senate was for life, and wealth and office-holding

countedformorethanbirth.

TheregimeestablishedbyAugustus, thefirstemperor,in27bcewascalledthe‘Principate’.Although

Augustuswasthesolerulerandtheonlyrealsourceofauthority,thefictionwaskeptalivethathewas

actuallyonlythe‘leadingcitizen’(PrincepsinLatin),nottheabsoluteruler.Thiswasdoneoutofrespect

fortheSenate,thebodywhichhadcontrolled Romeearlier,inthedayswhenit wasaRepublic.*The

SenatehadexistedinRomeforcenturies,andhadbeenandremainedabodyrepresentingthearistocracy,

that is, the wealthiest families of Roman and, later, Italian descent, mainly landowners. Most of the

Romanhistories thatsurvive inGreekand Latinwerewrittenby peoplefroma senatorialbackground.

From theseit is clearthat emperorswere judgedby how they behaved towards the Senate.The worst

emperorswerethosewhowerehostiletothesenatorialclass,behavingwithsuspicionorbrutalityand

violence.ManysenatorsyearnedtogobacktothedaysoftheRepublic,butmostmusthaverealisedthat

thiswasimpossible.

Next to the emperorandtheSenate,the otherkey institution of imperial rulewasthe army. Unlike the

army of its rival in the Persian empire, which was a conscripted** army, the Romans had a paid

professionalarmywheresoldiershadtoputinaminimumof25yearsofservice.Indeed,theexistenceof

apaidarmywasadistinctivefeatureoftheRomanEmpire.Thearmywasthelargestsingleorganised

bodyintheempire(600,000bythefourthcentury)anditcertainlyhadthepowertodeterminethefateof

emperors.Thesoldierswouldconstantlyagitateforbetterwagesandserviceconditions.Theseagitations

oftentooktheformofmutinies,ifthesoldiersfeltletdownbytheirgeneralsoreventheemperor.Again,

our picture of the Roman army depends largely on the way they were portrayed by historians with

senatorial sympathies. The Senate hated and feared the army, because it was a source of often-

unpredictable violence, especially in the tense conditions of the third century when government was

forcedtotaxmoreheavilytopayforitsmountingmilitaryexpenditures.

**A conscripted army is one which is forcibly recruited; military service is compulsory for certain groups or categories of the

population.

Tosumup,theemperor,thearistocracyandthearmywerethethreemain‘players’inthepoliticalhistory

oftheempire.Thesuccessofindividualemperorsdependedontheircontrolofthearmy,andwhenthe

armiesweredivided,theresultusuallywascivilwar*.Exceptforonenotoriousyear(69ce),whenfour

emperors mounted the throne in quick succession, the first two centuries were on the whole free from

civil warand in this sense relativelystable. Succession to thethrone was basedasfar as possibleon

familydescent,eithernaturaloradoptive,andeventhearmywasstronglyweddedtothisprinciple.For

example,Tiberius(14-37ce),thesecondinthelonglineofRomanemperors,wasnotthenaturalsonof

Augustus,therulerwhofoundedthePrincipate,butAugustusadoptedhimtoensureasmoothtransition.

Externalwarfarewasalsomuchlesscommoninthefirsttwocenturies.TheempireinheritedbyTiberius

fromAugustuswasalreadysovastthatfurtherexpansionwasfelttobeunnecessary.Infact,the‘Augustan

age’isrememberedforthepeaceit usheredinafterdecadesof internalstrifeandcenturiesofmilitary

conquest.TheonlymajorcampaignofexpansionintheearlyempirewasTrajan’sfruitlessoccupationof

territoryacrosstheEuphrates,intheyears113-17ceabandonedbyhissuccessors.

ShopsinForumJulium,Rome.Thispiazzawithcolumnswasbuiltafter51bce,toenlargetheolderRomanForum.

*Civilwarreferstoarmedstrugglesforpowerwithinthesamecountry,incontrasttoconflictsbetweendifferentcountries.

TheEmperorTrajan’sDream–AConquestofIndia?

‘Then,after a winter(115/16)inAntioch marked byagreatearthquake,in116 TrajanmarcheddowntheEuphrates toCtesiphon,the

Parthian capital, and then to the head of the Persian Gulf. There [the historian] Cassius Dio describes him looking longingly at a

merchant-shipsettingoffforIndia,andwishingthathewereasyoungasAlexander.’

–FergusMillar,TheRomanNearEast.

Much more characteristic was the gradual extension of Roman direct rule. This was accomplished by

absorbingawholeseriesof ‘dependent’kingdoms intoRomanprovincialterritory.TheNearEastwas

fullofsuchkingdoms*,butbytheearlysecondcenturythosewhichlaywestoftheEuphrates(towards

Romanterritory)haddisappeared,swallowedupbyRome.(Incidentally,someofthesekingdomswere

exceedinglywealthy,forexampleHerod’skingdomyieldedtheequivalentof5.4milliondenariiperyear,

equaltoover125,000kgofgold!ThedenariuswasaRomansilvercoincontainingabout4½gmofpure

silver.)

Infact,exceptforItaly,whichwasnotconsideredaprovinceinthesecenturies,alltheterritoriesofthe

empire were organised into provinces and subject to taxation. At its peak in the second century, the

RomanEmpirestretchedfromScotlandtothebordersofArmenia,andfromtheSaharatotheEuphrates

and sometimes beyond. Given that there was no government in the modern sense to help them to run

things,youmaywellask,howwasitpossiblefortheemperortocopewiththecontrolandadministration

of such a vast and diverse set of territories, with a population of some 60 million in the mid-second

century?Theanswerliesintheurbanisationoftheempire.

The Near East. From the perspective of someone who lived in the Roman Mediterranean, this

referredtoalltheterritoryeastoftheMediterranean,chieflytheRomanprovincesofSyria,Palestine

andMesopotamia,andinaloosersensethesurroundingterritories,forexampleArabia.

ThegreaturbancentresthatlinedtheshoresoftheMediterranean(Carthage,Alexandria,Antiochwere

the biggest among them) were the true bedrock of the imperial system. It was through the cities that

‘government’ was able to tax the provincial countrysides which generated much of the wealth of the

empire. What this means is that the local upper classes actively collaborated with the Roman state in

administeringtheirownterritoriesandraisingtaxesfromthem.Infact,oneofthemostinterestingaspects

ofRomanpoliticalhistoryisthedramaticshiftinpowerbetweenItalyandtheprovinces.Throughoutthe

second and third centuries, it was the provincial upper classes who supplied most of the cadre that

governedtheprovincesandcommandedthearmies.Theycametoformaneweliteofadministratorsand

military commanders who became much more powerful than the senatorial class because they had the

backingoftheemperors.Asthisnewgroupemerged,theemperorGallienus(253-68)consolidatedtheir

risetopowerbyexcludingsenatorsfrommilitarycommand.WearetoldthatGallienusforbadesenators

fromservinginthearmyorhavingaccesstoit,inordertopreventcontroloftheempirefromfallinginto

theirhands.

*Thesewerelocalkingdomsthatwere‘clients’ofRome.TheirrulerscouldbereliedontousetheirforcesinsupportofRome,andin

returnRomeallowedthemtoexist.

Tosumup,inthelatefirst,secondandearlythirdcenturiesthearmyandadministrationwereincreasingly

drawnfromtheprovinces,ascitizenshipspreadtotheseregionsandwasnolongerconfinedtoItaly.But

individualsofItalianorigincontinuedtodominatethesenateatleasttillthethirdcentury,whensenators

of provincial origin became a majority. These trends reflected the general decline of Italy within the

empire,bothpoliticalandeconomic,andtheriseofnewelitesinthewealthierandmoreurbanisedparts

oftheMediterranean,suchasthesouthofSpain,Africaandtheeast.AcityintheRomansensewasan

urbancentrewithitsownmagistrates,citycouncilanda‘territory’containingvillageswhichwereunder

its jurisdiction. Thus one city could not be in the territory of another city, but villages almost always

were.Villagescould beupgraded to thestatusof cities, and viceversa,usuallyasa mark ofimperial

favour (or the opposite). One crucial advantage of living in a city was simply that it might be better

providedforduringfoodshortagesandevenfaminesthanthecountryside.

PontduGard,nearNimes,France,firstcenturybce.Romanengineersbuiltmassiveaqueductsoverthreecontinentstocarrywater.

ACTIVITY1

WhowerethethreemainplayersinthepoliticalhistoryoftheRomanEmpire?Writeoneortwolinesabouteachofthem.Andhowdid

theRomanemperormanagetogovernsuchavastterritory?Whosecollaborationwascrucialtothis?

DoctorGalenonhowRomanCitiesTreatedtheCountryside

‘Thefamine prevalentformanysuccessiveyears inmanyprovinceshas clearly displayedformen ofany understanding theeffect of

malnutritioningeneratingillness.Thecity-dwellers,asitwastheircustomtocollectandstoreenoughgrainforthewholeofthenextyear

immediatelyaftertheharvest,carriedoffallthewheat,barley,beansandlentils,andlefttothepeasantsvariouskindsofpulse–after

takingquitealargeproportionofthesetothecity.Afterconsumingwhatwasleftinthecourseofthewinter,thecountrypeoplehadto

resorttounhealthyfoodsinthespring;theyatetwigsandshootsoftreesandbushesandbulbsandrootsofinedibleplants…’

–Galen,OnGoodandBadDiet.

PublicbathswereastrikingfeatureofRomanurbanlife(whenoneIranianrulertriedtointroducethem

intoIran,heencounteredthewrathoftheclergythere!Waterwasasacredelementandtouseitforpublic

bathingmayhaveseemedadesecrationtothem),andurbanpopulationsalsoenjoyedamuchhigherlevel

ofentertainment.Forexample,onecalendartellsusthatspectacula(shows)fillednolessthan176days

oftheyear!

AmphitheatreattheRomancantonmenttownofVindonissa(inmodernSwitzerland),firstcenturyce.Usedformilitarydrillandfor

stagingentertainmentsforthesoldiers.

TheThird-CenturyCrisis

Ifthefirstandsecondcenturieswerebyandlargeaperiodofpeace,prosperityandeconomicexpansion,

thethird centurybroughtthe firstmajor signsof internal strain. From the 230s, the empirefound itself

fightingonseveralfrontssimultaneously.InIrananewandmoreaggressivedynastyemergedin225(they

calledthemselvesthe‘Sasanians’)andwithinjust15yearswereexpandingrapidlyinthedirectionofthe

Euphrates.Inafamousrockinscriptioncutinthreelanguages,ShapurI,theIranianruler,claimedhehad

annihilated a Roman army of 60,000 and even captured the eastern capital of Antioch. Meanwhile, a

wholeseriesofGermanictribesorrathertribal confederacies (mostnotably,the Alamanni,the Franks

andtheGoths)begantomoveagainsttheRhineandDanubefrontiers,andthewholeperiodfrom233to

280sawrepeatedinvasionsofawholelineofprovincesthatstretchedfromtheBlackSeatotheAlpsand

southernGermany.TheRomanswereforcedtoabandonmuchoftheterritorybeyondtheDanube,while

theemperorsofthisperiodwereconstantlyinthefieldagainstwhattheRomanscalled‘barbarians’.The

rapidsuccessionofemperorsinthethirdcentury(25emperorsin47years!)isanobvioussymptomofthe

strainsfacedbytheempireinthisperiod.



Gender,Literacy,Culture

OneofthemoremodernfeaturesofRomansocietywasthewidespreadprevalenceofthenuclearfamily.

Adultsonsdidnotlivewiththeirfamilies,anditwasexceptionalforadultbrotherstoshareacommon

household.Ontheotherhand,slaveswereincludedinthefamilyastheRomansunderstoodthis.Bythe

lateRepublic(thefirstcenturybce),thetypicalformofmarriagewasonewherethewifedidnottransfer

toherhusband’sauthoritybutretainedfullrightsinthepropertyofhernatalfamily.Whilethewoman’s

dowrywenttothehusbandforthedurationofthemarriage,thewomanremainedaprimaryheirofher

father and became an independent property owner on her father’s death. Thus Roman women enjoyed

considerablelegalrightsinowningandmanagingproperty.Inotherwords,inlawthemarriedcouplewas

not one financial entity but two, and the wife enjoyed complete legal independence. Divorce was

relativelyeasyandneedednomorethananoticeofintenttodissolvethemarriagebyeitherhusbandor

wife. On the other hand, whereas males married in their late twenties or early thirties, women were

marriedoffinthelateteensorearlytwenties,sotherewasanagegapbetweenhusbandandwifeandthis

wouldhaveencouraged a certain inequality. Marriageswere generally arranged, and there isno doubt

that women were often subject to domination by their husbands. Augustine*, the great Catholic bishop

whospentmostofhislifeinNorthAfrica,tellsusthathismotherwasregularlybeatenbyhisfatherand

thatmostotherwivesinthesmalltownwherehegrewuphadsimilarbruisestoshow!Finally,fathers

hadsubstantiallegalcontrolovertheirchildren–sometimestoashockingdegree,forexample,alegal

poweroflifeanddeathinexposingunwantedchildren,byleavingthemoutinthecoldtodie.

Whataboutliteracy?Itiscertainthatratesofcasualliteracy*variedgreatlybetweendifferentpartsofthe

empire. For example, in Pompeii, which was buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 ce, there is strong

evidence of widespread casual literacy. Walls on the main streets of Pompeii often carried

advertisements,andgraffitiwerefoundalloverthecity.

Bycontrast,inEgyptwherehundredsofpapyrisurvive,mostformaldocumentssuchascontractswere

usuallywrittenbyprofessionalscribes,andtheyoftentellusthatXorYisunabletoreadandwrite.But

even here literacy was certainly more widespread among certain categories such as soldiers, army

officersandestatemanagers.

*SaintAugustine(354-430)wasbishopoftheNorthAfricancityofHippofrom396andatoweringfigureintheintellectualhistory

oftheChurch.

BishopswerethemostimportantreligiousfiguresinaChristiancommunity,andoftenverypowerful.



Theculturaldiversityoftheempirewasreflectedinmanywaysandatmanylevels:inthevastdiversity

ofreligious cultsand localdeities;thepluralityoflanguagesthat werespoken; the styles ofdressand

costume,thefoodpeopleate,theirformsofsocialorganisation(tribal/non-tribal),eventheirpatternsof

settlement.AramaicwasthedominantlanguagegroupoftheNearEast(atleastwestoftheEuphrates),

Copticwasspoken inEgypt,Punicand Berber in North Africa,CelticinSpainandthe northwest.But

manyoftheselinguisticcultureswerepurelyoral,atleastuntilascriptwasinventedforthem.Armenian,

forexample, only began to bewritten aslateas the fifth century,whereas there was already a Coptic

translationoftheBiblebythemiddleofthethirdcentury.Elsewhere,thespreadofLatindisplacedthe

written form of languages that were otherwise widespread; this happened notably with Celtic, which

ceasedtobewrittenafterthefirstcentury.

*Theuseofreadingandwritingineveryday,oftentrivial,contexts.

OneofthefunniestofthesegraffitifoundonthewallsofPompeiisays:

‘Wall,Iadmireyoufornotcollapsinginruins

Whenyouhavetosupportsomuchboringwritingonyou.’



MosaicinEdessa,secondcenturyce.TheSyriacinscriptionsuggeststhatthosedepictedarethewifeofkingAbgarandherfamily.



Pompeii:Awine-merchant’sdining-room,itswallsdecoratedwithscenesdepictingmythicalanimals.

EconomicExpansion

Theempirehadasubstantialeconomicinfrastructureofharbours,mines,quarries,brickyards,oliveoil

factories, etc. Wheat, wine and olive-oil were traded and consumed in huge quantities, and they came

mainly from Spain, the Gallic provinces, North Africa, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, Italy, where

conditions were best for these crops. Liquids like wine and olive oil were transported in containers

called‘amphorae’.Thefragmentsandsherdsofaverylargenumberofthesesurvive(MonteTestaccioin

Rome is said to contain the remnants of over 50 million vessels!), and it has been possible for

archaeologists to reconstruct the precise shapes of these containers, tell us what they carried, and say

exactly where they were made by examining the clay content and matching the finds with clay pits

throughouttheMediterranean.InthiswaywecannowsaywithsomeconfidencethatSpanisholiveoil,to

takejustoneexample,wasavastcommercialenterprisethatreacheditspeakintheyears140-160.

ShipwreckoffthesouthcoastofFrance,firstcenturybce.TheamphoraeareItalian,bearingthestampofaproducerneartheLake

ofFondi.

ACTIVITY2

HowindependentwerewomenintheRomanworld?ComparethesituationoftheRomanfamilywith

thefamilyinIndiatoday.

The Spanish olive oil of this period was mainly carried in a container called ‘Dressel 20’ (after the

archaeologistwhofirstestablisheditsform).IffindsofDressel20arewidelyscatteredacrosssitesin

the Mediterranean, this suggests that Spanish olive oil circulated very widely indeed. By using such

evidence(the remains of amphorae of differentkinds and their ‘distribution maps’),archaeologistsare

able to show that Spanish producers succeeded in capturing markets for olive oil from their Italian

counterparts.ThiswouldonlyhavehappenedifSpanishproducerssuppliedabetterqualityoilatlower

prices.

In otherwords, the biglandowners from different regions competed with each other for control of the

mainmarketsforthegoodstheyproduced.ThesuccessoftheSpanisholivegrowerswasthenrepeatedby

NorthAfricanproducers–oliveestatesinthispartoftheempiredominatedproductionthroughmostof

thethirdandfourthcenturies.Later,after425,NorthAfricandominancewasbrokenbytheEast:inthe

later fifth and sixth centuries the Aegean, southern Asia Minor (Turkey), Syria and Palestine became

majorexportersofwineandoliveoil,andcontainersfromAfricashowadramaticallyreducedpresence

onMediterraneanmarkets.Behindthesebroadmovementstheprosperityofindividualregionsroseand

felldependingonhoweffectivelytheycouldorganisetheproductionandtransportofparticulargoods,

andonthequalityofthosegoods.

Theempireincludedmanyregionsthathadareputationforexceptionalfertility.CampaniainItaly,Sicily,

theFayuminEgypt,Galilee,Byzacium(Tunisia),southernGaul(calledGalliaNarbonensis),andBaetica

(southernSpain)wereallamongthemostdenselysettledorwealthiestpartsoftheempire,accordingto

writerslikeStraboandPliny.ThebestkindsofwinecamefromCampania.SicilyandByzaciumexported

large quantities of wheat to Rome. Galilee was densely cultivated (‘every inch of the soil has been

cultivated by the inhabitants’, wrote the historian Josephus), and Spanish olive oil came mainly from

numerousestates(fundi)alongthebanksoftheriverGuadalquivirinthesouthofSpain.

Ontheotherhand,largeexpansesofRomanterritorywereinamuchlessadvancedstate.Forexample,

transhumance* was widespread in the countryside of Numidia (modern Algeria). These pastoral and

semi-nomadic communities were often on the move, carrying their oven-shaped huts (called mapalia)

with them. As Roman estates expanded in North Africa, the pastures of those communities were

drasticallyreducedandtheirmovementsmoretightlyregulated.EveninSpainthenorthwasmuchless

developed, and inhabited largely by a Celtic-speaking peasantry that lived in hilltop villages called

castella.WhenwethinkoftheRomanEmpire,weshouldneverforgetthesedifferences.

ACTIVITY3

Archaeologistswhoworkontheremainsofpotteryareabitlikedetectives.Canyouexplainwhy?

Also,whatcanamphoraetellusabout

theeconomiclifeoftheMediterraneanintheRomanperiod?

Weshouldalsobecarefulnottoimaginethatbecausethiswasthe‘ancient’world,theirformsofcultural

andeconomiclifewerenecessarilybackwardorprimitive.Onthecontrary,diversifiedapplicationsof

waterpoweraroundtheMediterraneanaswellasadvancesinwater-poweredmillingtechnology,theuse

ofhydraulicminingtechniquesintheSpanishgoldandsilverminesandthegiganticindustrialscaleon

whichthosemineswereworkedinthefirstandsecondcenturies(withlevelsofoutputthatwouldnotbe

reached again till the nineteenth century, some 1,700 years later!), the existence of well-organised

commercialandbankingnetworks,andthewidespreaduseofmoneyareallindicationsofhowmuchwe

tendtounder-estimatethesophisticationoftheRomaneconomy.Thisraisestheissueoflabourandofthe

useofslavery.

*Transhumanceistheherdsman’sregularannualmovementbetweenthehighermountainregionsandlow-lyinggroundinsearchof

pastureforsheepandotherflocks.

ControllingWorkers

Slaverywasaninstitutiondeeplyrootedintheancientworld,bothintheMediterraneanandintheNear

East,andnotevenChristianitywhenitemergedandtriumphedasthestatereligion(inthefourthcentury)

seriouslychallengedthisinstitution.ItdoesnotfollowthatthebulkofthelabourintheRomaneconomy

wasperformedbyslaves.ThatmayhavebeentrueoflargepartsofItalyintheRepublicanperiod(under

Augustustherewerestill3millionslavesinatotalItalianpopulationof7.5million)butitwasnolonger

true of the empire as a whole. Slaves were an investment, and at least one Roman agricultural writer

advisedlandownersagainstusingthemincontextswheretoomanymightberequired(forexample,for

harvests)orwheretheirhealthcouldbedamaged(forexample,bymalaria).Theseconsiderationswere

not based on any sympathy for the slaves but on hard economic calculation. On the other hand, if the

Romanupperclasseswereoftenbrutaltowardstheirslaves,ordinarypeopledidsometimesshowmuch

morecompassion.SeewhatonehistoriansaysaboutafamousincidentthatoccurredinthereignofNero.

As warfare became lesswidespread with the establishment of peace in the first century, the supply of

slaves tended to decline and the users of slave labour thus had to turn either to slave breeding* or to

cheaper substitutes such as wage labour which was more easily dispensable. In fact, free labour was

extensivelyusedonpublicworksatRomepreciselybecauseanextensiveuseofslavelabourwouldhave

beentooexpensive.Unlikehiredworkers,slaveshadtobefedandmaintainedthroughouttheyear,which

increasedthecostofholdingthiskindoflabour.Thisisprobablywhyslavesarenotwidelyfoundinthe

agricultureofthelaterperiod,atleastnotintheeasternprovinces.Ontheotherhand,theyandfreedmen,

thatis,slaveswhohadbeensetfreebytheirmasters,wereextensivelyusedasbusinessmanagers,where,

obviously,theywerenotrequiredinlargenumbers.Mastersoftengavetheirslavesorfreedmencapitalto

runbusinessesontheirbehalforevenbusinessesoftheirown.

TheRomanagriculturalwriterspaidagreatdealofattentiontothemanagementoflabour.Columella,a

first-century writer who came from the south of Spain, recommended that landowners should keep a

reserve stock of implements and tools, twice as many as they needed, so that production could be

continuous, ‘for the loss in slave labour-time exceeds the cost of such items’. There was a general

presumptionamongemployersthatwithoutsupervisionnoworkwouldevergetdone,sosupervisionwas

paramount, for both free workers and slaves. To make supervision easier, workers were sometimes

groupedintogangsorsmallerteams.Columellarecommendedsquadsoften,claimingitwaseasiertotell

who was putting in effort and who was not in work groups of this size. This shows a detailed

considerationofthemanagementoflabour.PlinytheElder,theauthorofaveryfamous‘NaturalHistory’,

condemnedtheuseofslavegangsastheworstmethodoforganisingproduction,mainlybecauseslaves

whoworkedingangswereusuallychainedtogetherbytheirfeet.

OntheTreatmentofSlaves

‘Soon afterwards the City Prefect, LuciusPedanius Secundus, was murdered by one of hisslaves. After the murder, ancient custom

requiredthateveryslaveresidingunderthesameroofmustbeexecuted.Butacrowdgathered,eagertosavesomanyinnocentlives;

and rioting began. The senate-house wasbesieged.Inside, there was feeling against excessive severity, but the majority opposed any

change(….)[Thesenators]favouring executionprevailed.However,greatcrowdsreadywith stonesand torchespreventedtheorder

frombeingcarriedout.Nerorebukedthepopulationbyedict,andlinedwithtroopsthewholeroutealongwhichthosecondemnedwere

takenforexecution.’

–Tacitus(55-117),historianoftheearlyempire.



*Thepracticeofencouragingfemaleslavesandtheirpartnerstohavemorechildren,whowouldofcoursealsobeslaves.

Opppage:MosaicatCherchel,Algeria,earlythirdcenturyce,withagriculturalscenes.

Above:Ploughingandsowing.

Below:Workinginvineyards.

Allthislooksdraconian*,butweshouldrememberthatmostfactoriesintheworldtodayenforcesimilar

principlesoflabourcontrol.Indeed,someindustrialestablishmentsintheempireenforcedeventighter

controls.TheElderPlinydescribedconditionsinthefrankincense**factories(officinae)ofAlexandria,

where,hetellsus,noamountofsupervisionseemedtosuffice.‘Asealisputupontheworkmen’saprons,

theyhavetowearamaskoranetwithaclosemeshontheirheads,andbeforetheyareallowedtoleave

the premises, they have to take off all their clothes.’ Agricultural labour must have been fatiguing and

disliked,forafamousedictoftheearlythirdcenturyreferstoEgyptianpeasantsdesertingtheirvillages

‘in order not to engage in agricultural work’. The same was probably true of most factories and

workshops.Alawof398referredtoworkersbeingbrandedsotheycouldberecognisedifandwhenthey

runawayandtrytohide.Manyprivateemployerscasttheiragreementswithworkersintheformofdebt

contractstobeabletoclaimthattheiremployeeswereindebttothemandthusensuretightercontrolover

them. An early, second-century writer tells us, ‘Thousands surrender themselves to work in servitude,

althoughtheyarefree.’Inotherwords,alot ofthepoorerfamilieswentinto debt bondageinorderto

survive.FromoneoftherecentlydiscoveredlettersofAugustinewelearnthatparentssometimessold

theirchildrenintoservitudeforperiodsof25years.Augustineaskedalawyerfriendofhiswhetherthese

childrencouldbeliberatedoncethefatherdied.Ruralindebtednesswasevenmorewidespread;totake

just oneexample, in the great Jewishrevolt of66 ce*the revolutionaries destroyed the moneylenders’

bondstowinpopularsupport.

**Frankincense – the European name for an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes. It is tapped from Boswellia trees by

slashingthebarkandallowingtheexudedresinstoharden.Thebest-qualityfrankincensecamefromtheArabianpeninsula.

*Draconian:Harsh(so-calledbecauseofanearlysixth-centurybce

GreeklawmakercalledDraco,whoprescribeddeathasthepenaltyformostcrimes!).

Again,weshouldbecarefulnottoconcludethatthebulkoflabourwascoercedintheseways.Thelate-fifth-centuryemperor

AnastasiusbuilttheeasternfrontiercityofDarainlessthanthreeweeksbyattractinglabourfromallovertheEastbyofferinghigh

wages.FromthepapyriwecanevenformsomeestimateofhowwidespreadwagelabourhadbecomeinpartsoftheMediterranean

bythesixthcentury,especiallyintheEast.

*ArebellioninJudaeaagainstRomandomination,whichwasruthlesslysuppressedbytheRomans

inwhatiscalledthe‘Jewishwar’.

SocialHierarchies

Let us stand back from the details now and try and get a sense of the social structures of the empire.

Tacitusdescribedtheleadingsocialgroupsoftheearlyempireasfollows:senators(patres,lit.‘fathers’);

leadingmembersoftheequestrianclass;therespectablesectionofthepeople,thoseattachedtothegreat

houses; the unkempt lower class (plebs sordida) who, he tells us, were addicted to the circus and

theatrical displays; and finallythe slaves.In the earlythirdcentury when the Senatenumbered roughly

1,000,approximatelyhalfofallsenatorsstillcamefromItalianfamilies.Bythelateempire,whichstarts

withthereignofConstantineIintheearlypartofthefourthcentury,thefirsttwogroupsmentionedby

Tacitus(thesenatorsandtheequites*)hadmergedintoaunifiedandexpandedaristocracy,andatleast

half of all families were of African or eastern origin. This ‘late Roman’ aristocracy was enormously

wealthybut inmany wayslesspowerfulthanthepurelymilitary eliteswhocamealmost entirely from

non-aristocratic backgrounds. The ‘middle’ class now consisted of the considerable mass of persons

connectedwithimperialserviceinthebureaucracyandarmybutalsothemoreprosperousmerchantsand

farmersofwhomthereweremanyintheeasternprovinces.Tacitusdescribedthis‘respectable’middle

classasclientsofthegreatsenatorialhouses.Nowitwaschieflygovernmentserviceanddependenceon

the State that sustained many of these families. Below them were the vast mass of the lower classes

knowncollectivelyashumiliores(lit.‘lower’).Theycomprisedarurallabourforceofwhichmanywere

permanently employed on the large estates; workers in industrial and mining establishments; migrant

workerswhosuppliedmuchofthelabourforthegrainandoliveharvestsandforthebuildingindustry;

self-employed artisans who, it was said, were better fed than wage labourers; a large mass of casual

labourers,especiallyinthebigcities;andofcoursethemanythousandsofslavesthatwerestillfoundall

overthewesternempireinparticular.

*The equites, (‘knights’ or ‘horsemen’) were traditionally the second most powerful and wealthy

group.Originally,theywerefamilieswhosepropertyqualifiedthemtoserveinthecavalry,hencethe

name. Like senators, most ‘knights’ were landowners, but unlike senators many of them were

shipowners,tradersandbankers,thatis,involvedinbusinessactivities.

Onewriteroftheearlyfifthcentury,thehistorianOlympiodoruswho wasalsoanambassador,tellsus

thatthearistocracybasedintheCityofRomedrewannualincomesofupto4,000lbsofgoldfromtheir

estates,notcountingtheproducetheyconsumeddirectly!

ACTIVITY4

Thetexthasreferredtothreewriterswhoseworkisusedtosaysomethingabouthow

the Romans treated their workers. Can you identify them? Reread the section for

yourselfanddescribeanytwomethodstheRomansusedtocontrollabour.

Themonetarysystemofthelateempirebrokewiththesilver-basedcurrenciesofthefirstthreecenturies

becausetheSpanishsilvermineswereexhaustedandgovernmentranoutofsufficientstocksofthemetal

to support a stable coinage in silver. Constantine founded the new monetary system on gold and there

werevastamountsofthisincirculationthroughoutlateantiquity.

ThelateRomanbureaucracy, both thehigher and middleechelons, was a comparatively affluent group

because it drew the bulk of itssalary in gold and investedmuch of this in buying up assets like land.

There was of course also a great deal of corruption, especially in the judicial system and in the

administration of military supplies. The extortion of the higher bureaucracy and the greed of the

provincial governors were proverbial. But government intervened repeatedly to curb these forms of

corruption–weonlyknowabouttheminthefirstplacebecauseofthelawsthattriedtoputanendto

them, and because historians and other members of the intelligentsia denounced such practices. This

element of ‘criticism’ is a remarkable feature of the classical world. The Roman state was an

authoritarianregime;inotherwords,dissent wasrarelytoleratedandgovernmentusuallyrespondedto

protestwithviolence(especiallyinthecitiesoftheEastwherepeoplewereoftenfearlessinmakingfun

ofemperors).YetastrongtraditionofRomanlawhademergedbythefourthcentury,andthisactedasa

brakeoneventhemostfearsomeemperors.Emperorswerenotfreetodowhatevertheyliked,andthe

lawwasactivelyusedtoprotectcivilrights.Thatiswhyinthelaterfourthcenturyitwaspossiblefor

powerfulbishopslikeAmbrosetoconfrontequallypowerfulemperorswhentheywereexcessivelyharsh

orrepressiveintheirhandlingofthecivilianpopulation.

LateAntiquity

WeshallconcludethischapterbylookingattheculturaltransformationoftheRomanworldinitsfinal

centuries.‘Lateantiquity’isthetermnowusedtodescribethefinal,fascinatingperiodintheevolution

and break-up of the Roman Empire and refers broadly to the fourth to seventh centuries. The fourth

century itself was one of considerable ferment, both cultural and economic. At the cultural level, the

period saw momentous developments in religious life, with the emperorConstantine deciding to make

Christianitytheofficialreligion,andwiththeriseofIslamintheseventhcentury.Buttherewereequally

importantchangesinthestructureof the statethatbeganwith the emperorDiocletian(284-305),andit

maybebesttostartwiththese.

IncomesoftheRomanAristocracy,EarlyFifthCentury

‘EachofthegreathousesofRomecontainedwithinitselfeverythingwhichamedium-sizedcitycouldhold,ahippodrome,fora,temples,

fountainsanddifferentkindsofbaths…ManyoftheRomanhouseholdsreceivedanincomeoffourthousandpoundsofgoldper year

fromtheirproperties,notincludinggrain,wineandotherproducewhich,ifsold,wouldhaveamountedtoone-thirdoftheincomeingold.

TheincomeofthehouseholdsatRomeofthesecondclasswasonethousandorfifteenhundredpoundsofgold.’

–OlympiodorusofThebes.

OverexpansionhadledDiocletianto‘cutback’byabandoningterritorieswithlittlestrategicoreconomic

value. Diocletianalsofortifiedthe frontiers, reorganised provincialboundaries,and separatedcivilian

frommilitaryfunctions,grantinggreaterautonomytothemilitarycommanders(duces),whonowbecame

amorepowerfulgroup.Constantineconsolidatedsomeofthesechangesandaddedothersofhisown.His

chiefinnovationswereinthemonetarysphere,whereheintroducedanewdenomination,thesolidus,a

coinof4½gmofpuregoldthatwouldinfactoutlasttheRomanEmpireitself.Solidiweremintedona

verylargescaleandtheircirculationranintomillions.Theotherareaofinnovationwasthecreationofa

second capital at Constantinople (at the site of modern Istanbul in Turkey, and previously called

Byzantium),surroundedonthreesidesbythesea.Asthenewcapitalrequiredanewsenate,thefourth

centurywasaperiodofrapid expansionofthegoverningclasses.Monetarystabilityandanexpanding

populationstimulatedeconomicgrowth,andthearchaeologicalrecordshowsconsiderableinvestmentin

rural establishments, including industrial installations like oil presses and glass factories, in newer

technologiessuchasscrewpressesandmultiplewater-mills,andinarevivalofthelong-distancetrade

withtheEast.

Allofthiscarriedoverintostrongurbanprosperitythatwasmarkedbynewformsofarchitectureandan

exaggerated sense of luxury. The ruling elites were wealthier and more powerful than ever before. In

Egypt,hundredsofpapyrisurvivefromtheselatercenturiesandtheyshowusarelativelyaffluentsociety

wheremoneywasinextensiveuseandruralestatesgeneratedvastincomesingold.Forexample,Egypt

contributedtaxesofover2½millionsolidiayear(roughly35,000lbsofgold)inthereignofJustinianin

thesixthcentury.Indeed,largepartsoftheNearEasterncountrysideweremoredevelopedanddensely

settledinthefifthandsixthcenturiesthantheywouldbeeveninthetwentiethcentury!Thisisthesocial

backgroundagainstwhichweshouldsettheculturaldevelopmentsofthisperiod.

Thetraditionalreligiouscultureoftheclassicalworld,bothGreekandRoman,hadbeenpolytheist.That

is,itinvolvedamultiplicityofcultsthatincludedbothRoman/ItaliangodslikeJupiter,Juno,Minervaand

Mars,aswellasnumerous Greekandeasterndeities worshippedinthousands of temples,shrinesand

sanctuariesthroughouttheempire.Polytheistshadnocommonnameorlabeltodescribethemselves.The

other great religious traditionin the empirewasJudaism. ButJudaism was not a monolith* either, and

there was a great deal of diversity within the Jewish communities of late antiquity. Thus, the

‘Christianisation’** of theempirein the fourth and fifth centuries wasa gradual and complex process.

Polytheismdidnotdisappearovernight,especiallyinthewesternprovinces,wheretheChristianbishops

wagedarunningbattleagainstbeliefsandpracticestheycondemnedmorethantheChristianlaity***did.

PartofacolossalstatueofEmperorConstantine,313ce.

The boundaries between religious communities were much more fluid in the fourth century than they

wouldbecomethankstotherepeatedeffortsofreligiousleaders,thepowerfulbishopswhonowledthe

Church,toreinintheirfollowersandenforceamorerigidsetofbeliefsandpractices.

***Laity–theordinarymembersofareligiouscommunityasopposedtothepriestsorclergywhohaveofficialpositionswithinthe

community.

*Monolith–literallyalargeblock ofstone,but the expressionisused to referto anything(forexample asocietyor culture)that

lacksvarietyandisallofthesametype.

**Christianisation – the processby whichChristianity spread amongdifferentgroupsofthe population andbecamethedominant

religion.

ThegeneralprosperitywasespeciallymarkedintheEastwherepopulationwasstillexpandingtillthe

sixthcentury,despitetheimpactoftheplaguewhichaffectedtheMediterraneaninthe540s.IntheWest,

by contrast, the empire fragmented politically as Germanic groups from the North (Goths, Vandals,

Lombards,etc.)tookoverallthemajor provincesandestablishedkingdomsthat arebest describedas

‘post-Roman’.ThemostimportantofthesewerethatoftheVisigothsinSpain,destroyedbytheArabs

between711and720,thatoftheFranksinGaul(c.511-687)andthatoftheLombardsinItaly(568-774).

These kingdoms foreshadowed the beginnings of a different kind of world that is usually called

‘medieval’.IntheEast,wheretheempireremainedunited,thereignofJustinianisthehighwatermarkof

prosperityandimperialambition.JustinianrecapturedAfricafromtheVandals(in533)buthisrecovery

ofItaly(fromtheOstrogoths)leftthatcountrydevastatedandpavedthewayfortheLombardinvasion.By

theearlyseventhcentury,thewarbetweenRomeandIranhadflaredupagain,andtheSasanianswhohad

ruled Iran since the third century launched a wholesale invasion of all the major eastern provinces

(includingEgypt).WhenByzantium,astheRomanEmpirewasnowincreasinglyknown,recoveredthese

provincesinthe620s,itwasjustafewyearsaway,literally,fromthefinalmajorblowwhichcame,this

time,fromthesouth-east.

TheColosseum,builtin79ce,wheregladiatorsfoughtwildbeasts.Itcouldaccommodate60,000people.

Theexpansion ofIslam from itsbeginnings inArabiahasbeencalled ‘thegreatest politicalrevolution

evertooccurinthehistoryoftheancientworld’.By642,barelytenyearsaftertheProphetMuhammad’s

death,largepartsofboththeeasternRomanandSasanianempireshadfallentotheArabsinaseriesof

stunning confrontations. However, we should bear in mind that those conquests, which eventually (a

centurylater)extendedasfarafieldasSpain,SindandCentralAsia,beganinfactwiththesubjectionof

theArabtribesbytheemergingIslamicstate,firstwithinArabiaandthenintheSyriandesertandonthe

fringesofIraq. As we will seein Theme 4, the unification ofthe Arabian peninsulaand its numerous

tribeswasthekeyfactorbehindtheterritorialexpansionofIslam.

Map2:WestAsia

MosaicatRavenna,547ce,showingEmperorJustinian.



Exercises

Answerinbrief

1. If you had livedin theRoman Empire, where would you rather havelived – inthe townsor in the

countryside?Explainwhy.

2.Compilealistofsomeofthetowns,cities,rivers,seasandprovincesmentionedinthischapter,and

thentryandfindthemonthemaps.Canyousaysomethingaboutanythreeoftheitemsinthelistyouhave

compiled?

3.ImaginethatyouareaRomanhousewifepreparingashoppinglistforhouseholdrequirements.What

wouldbeonthelist?

4.WhydoyouthinktheRomangovernmentstoppedcoininginsilver?Andwhichmetaldiditbegintouse

fortheproductionofcoinage?



Answerinashortessay

5.SupposetheemperorTrajanhadactuallymanagedtoconquerIndiaandtheRomanshadheldontothe

countryforseveralcenturies.InwhatwaysdoyouthinkIndiamightbedifferenttoday?

6. Go through the chapter carefully and pick out some basic features of Roman society and economy

whichyouthinkmakeitlookquitemodern.

Theme4

TheCentralIslamicLands

Asweenterthetwenty-firstcentury,thereareover1billionMuslimslivinginallpartsoftheworld.

Theyarecitizensofdifferentnations,speakdifferentlanguages,anddressdifferently.Theprocesses

bywhichtheybecameMuslimswerevaried,andsowerethecircumstancesinwhichtheywenttheir

separateways.Yet,theIslamiccommunityhasitsrootsinamoreunifiedpastwhichunfoldedroughly

1,400yearsagointheArabianpeninsula.InthischapterwearegoingtoreadabouttheriseofIslam

anditsexpansionoveravastterritoryextendingfromEgypttoAfghanistan,thecoreareaofIslamic

civilisation from 600 to 1200. In these centuries, Islamic society exhibited multiple political and

culturalpatterns.ThetermIslamicisusedherenotonlyinitspurelyreligioussensebutalsoforthe

overallsocietyandculturehistoricallyassociatedwithIslam.Inthissocietynoteverythingthatwas

happening originated directly fromreligion,but it took place in a society whereMuslims and their

faithwererecognisedassociallydominant.Non-Muslimsalways formedanintegral,if subordinate,

partofthissocietyasdidJewsinChristendom.



OurunderstandingofthehistoryofthecentralIslamiclandsbetween600and1200isbasedonchronicles

ortawarikh(whichnarrateeventsinorderoftime)andsemi-historicalworks,suchasbiographies(sira),

records of the sayings and doings of the Prophet (hadith)and commentaries on theQuran (tafsir). The

materialfromwhichtheseworkswereproducedwasalargecollectionofeyewitnessreports(akhbar)

transmittedoveraperiodoftimeeitherorallyoronpaper.Theauthenticityofeachreport(khabar)was

testedbyacriticalmethodwhichtracedthechainoftransmission(isnad)andestablishedthereliabilityof

the narrator. Although the method was not foolproof, medieval Muslim writers were more careful in

selecting their information and understanding the motives of their informants than were their

contemporariesinotherpartsoftheworld.Oncontroversialissues,theyreproduceddifferentversionsof

the same event, as they found in their sources, leaving the task of judgement to their readers. Their

descriptionofeventsclosertotheirowntimesismoresystematicandanalyticalandlessofacollection

ofakhbar.Mostofthechroniclesandsemi-historicalworksareinArabic,thebestbeingtheTarikhof

Tabari(d.923)whichhasbeentranslatedintoEnglishin38volumes.Persianchroniclesarefewbutthey

arequite detailedintheirtreatmentof IranandCentralAsia.Christianchronicles,writteninSyriac(a

dialect of Aramaic*), are fewer but they throw interesting light on the history of early Islam. Besides

chronicles,wehavelegaltexts,geographies,traveloguesandliteraryworks,suchasstoriesandpoems.

Documentaryevidence(fragmentarypiecesofwriting,suchasofficialordersorprivatecorrespondence)

isthemostvaluableforwritinghistoriesbecauseitdoesnotconsciouslyrefertoeventsandpersons.It

comes almostentirely from Greek and Arabicpapyri (good for administrative history) and the Geniza

records. Some evidence has emerged from archaeological (excavations done at desert palaces),

numismatic (study of coins) and epigraphic (study of inscriptions) sources which is of great value for

economichistory,arthistory,andforestablishingnamesanddates.

Proper histories of Islam began to be written in the nineteenth century by university professors in

GermanyandtheNetherlands.ColonialinterestsintheMiddleEastandNorthAfricaencouragedFrench

andBritishresearcherstostudyIslamaswell.Christianprieststoopaidcloseattentiontothehistoryof

Islam and produced some good work, although their interest was mainly to compare Islam with

Christianity. These scholars,called Orientalists, are known fortheir knowledge of Arabic and Persian

andcriticalanalysisoforiginaltexts.IgnazGoldziherwasaHungarianJewwhostudiedattheIslamic

college(al-Azhar)inCairoandproducedpath-breakingstudiesinGermanofIslamiclawandtheology.

Twentieth-century historians of Islam have largely followed the interests and methods of Orientalists.

TheyhavewidenedthescopeofIslamichistorybyincludingnewtopics,andbyusingallieddisciplines,

such as economics, anthropology and statistics, have refined many aspects of Orientalist studies. The

historiographyofIslamisagoodexampleofhowreligioncanbestudiedwithmodernhistoricalmethods

bythosewhomaynotsharethecustomsandbeliefsofthepeopletheyarestudying.

*AramaicisalanguagerelatedtoHebrewandArabic.IthasalsobeenusedinAshokaninscriptions.

TheRiseofIslaminArabia:Faith,CommunityandPolitics

During612-32,theProphetMuhammadpreachedtheworshipofasingleGod,Allah,andthemembership

ofasingle community ofbelievers(umma). This wasthe origin of Islam.MuhammadwasanArab by

languageandcultureandamerchantbyprofession.Sixth-centuryArabculturewaslargelyconfinedtothe

ArabianpeninsulaandareasofsouthernSyriaandMesopotamia.

TheArabsweredividedintotribes*(qabila),eachledbyachiefwhowaschosenpartlyonthebasisof

hisfamilyconnectionsbutmoreforhispersonalcourage,wisdomandgenerosity(murawwa).Eachtribe

haditsowngodorgoddess,whowasworshippedasanidol(sanam)inashrine.ManyArabtribeswere

nomadic (Bedouins), moving from dry to green areas (oases) of the desert in search of food (mainly

dates)andfodderfortheircamels.Somesettledincitiesandpractisedtradeoragriculture.Muhammad’s

own tribe, Quraysh, lived in Mecca and controlled the main shrine there, a cube-like structure called

Kaba,in which idols wereplaced.Even tribes outsideMecca considered theKaba holy and installed

theirownidolsatthisshrine,makingannualpilgrimages(hajj)totheshrine.Meccawaslocatedonthe

crossroadsofatraderoutebetweenYemenandSyriawhichfurtherenhancedthecity’simportance(see

Mapp.82).TheMeccanshrinewasasanctuary(haram)whereviolencewasforbiddenandprotection

given to all visitors. Pilgrimage and commerce gave the nomadic and settled tribes opportunities to

communicatewithoneanotherandsharetheirbeliefsandcustoms.AlthoughthepolytheisticArabswere

vaguelyfamiliarwiththenotionofaSupremeGod,Allah(possiblyundertheinfluenceoftheJewishand

Christian tribes living in their midst), their attachment to idols and shrines was more immediate and

stronger.

*Tribesaresocietiesorganisedonthebasisofbloodrelationships.TheArabtribesweremadeupofclansorcombinationsoflarge

families. Unrelated clans also merged to make a tribe stronger. Non-Arab individuals (mawali) became members through the

patronageofprominenttribesmen.EvenafterconvertingtoIslam,themawaliwerenevertreatedasequalsbytheArabMuslimsand

hadtoprayinseparatemosques.

Around612,Muhammaddeclaredhimselftobethemessenger(rasul)ofGodwhohadbeencommanded

to preach that Allah alone should be worshipped. The worship involved simple rituals, such as daily

prayers(salat),andmoralprinciples,suchasdistributingalmsandabstainingfromtheft.Muhammadwas

tofoundacommunityofbelievers(umma)boundbyacommonsetofreligiousbeliefs.Thecommunity

wouldbearwitness(shahada)totheexistenceofthereligionbeforeGodaswellasbeforemembersof

other religious communities. Muhammad’s message particularly appealed to those Meccans who felt

deprivedofthegainsfromtradeandreligionandwerelookingforanewcommunityidentity.Thosewho

accepted the doctrine were called Muslims. They were promised salvation on the Day of Judgement

(qiyama) and a share of the resources of the community while on earth. The Muslims soon faced

considerable opposition from affluent Meccans who took offence to the rejection of their deities and

foundthenewreligionathreattothestatusandprosperityofMecca.In622,Muhammadwasforced

tomigratewithhisfollowerstoMedina.Muhammad’sjourneyfromMecca(hijra)wasaturningpointin

thehistoryof

Islam,withtheyearofhisarrivalinMedinamarkingthebeginningoftheMuslimcalendar.

Athirteenthcenturypaintingfrom‘AjaibulMakhluqat’depictingtheartist’simaginationoftheArchangelGabriel(Jibril)who

broughtmessagestoMuhammad.Thefirstwordhespokewas‘recite’(iqra)fromwhichhascomethewordQuran.InIslamic

cosmology,angelsareoneofthethreeintelligentformsoflifeintheUniverse.Theothertwoarehumansandjinns.

IslamicCalendar

TheHijrierawasestablishedduringthecaliphateofUmar,withthefirstyearfallingin622ce.AdateintheHijricalendarisfollowedby

thelettersah.

TheHijriyearisalunaryearof354days,12months(MuharramtoDhulHijja)of29or30days.Eachdaybeginsatsunsetandeach

monthwiththesightingofthecrescentmoon.TheHijriyearisabout11daysshorterthanthesolaryear.Therefore,noneoftheIslamic

religiousfestivals,includingtheRamazanfast,Idandhajj,correspondsinanywaytoseasons.Thereisnoeasywaytomatchthedatesin

theHijricalendarwiththedatesintheGregoriancalendar(establishedbyPopeGregoryXIIIin1582ce).Onecancalculatetherough

equivalentsbetweentheIslamic(H)andGregorianChristian(C)yearswiththefollowingformulae:

(H×32/33)+622=C

(C–622)×33/32=H



Thesurvivalofareligionrestsonthesurvivalofthecommunityofbelievers.Thecommunityhastobe

consolidated internally and protected from external dangers. Consolidation and protection require

politicalinstitutionssuchasstatesandgovernmentswhichareeitherinheritedfromthepast,borrowed

from outside or created from scratch. In Medina, Muhammad created a political order from all three

sourceswhichgavehisfollowerstheprotectiontheyneededaswellasresolvedthecity’songoingcivil

strife.TheummawasconvertedintoawidercommunitytoincludepolytheistsandtheJewsofMedina

under the political leadership of Muhammad. Muhammad consolidated the faith for his followers by

addingandrefiningrituals(suchasfasting)andethicalprinciples.Thecommunitysurvivedonagriculture

and trade, as well as an alms tax (zakat). In addition, the Muslims organised expeditionary raids on

Meccan caravans and nearby oases. These raids provoked reactions from the Meccans and caused a

breach with the Jews of Medina. After a series of battles, Mecca was conquered and Muhammad’s

reputationasareligiouspreacherandpoliticalleaderspreadfarandwide.Muhammadnowinsistedon

conversionasthesolecriterionformembershipofthecommunity.Intheharshconditionsofthedesert,

theArabsattachedgreatvaluetostrengthandsolidarity.ImpressedbyMuhammad’sachievements,many

tribes,mostlyBedouins, joined thecommunity by converting to Islam. Muhammad’s alliancesbegan to

spread until they embraced the whole of Arabia. Medina became the administrative capital of the

emergingIslamicstatewithMeccaasitsreligiouscentre.TheKabawascleansed ofidolsasMuslims

wererequiredtofacetheshrinewhenofferingprayers.Inashortspaceoftime,Muhammadwasableto

unitealargepartofArabiaunderanewfaith,communityandstate.TheearlyIslamicpolity,however,

remainedafederationofArabtribesandclansforalongtime.

PilgrimsattheKaba,illustrationfromafifteenth-centuryPersianmanuscript.

TheCaliphate:Expansion,CivilWarsandSectFormation

AfterMuhammad’sdeathin632,noonecouldlegitimatelyclaimtobethenextprophetof Islam.Asa

result, his political authority was transferred totheumma with no established principle of succession.

ThiscreatedopportunitiesforinnovationsbutalsocauseddeepdivisionsamongtheMuslims.Thebiggest

innovationwasthecreationoftheinstitutionofcaliphate,inwhichtheleaderofthecommunity(amiral-

muminin) became the deputy (khalifa) of the Prophet. The first four caliphs (632-61) justified their

powersonthebasisoftheircloseassociationwiththeProphetandcontinuedhisworkunderthegeneral

guidelines he hadprovided.The twinobjectivesof thecaliphateweretoretain controloverthe tribes

constitutingtheummaandtoraiseresourcesforthestate.

Following Muhammad’s death, many tribes broke away from theIslamic state.Someeven raised their

ownprophetstoestablishcommunitiesmodelledontheumma.Thefirstcaliph,AbuBakr,suppressedthe

revoltsbyaseriesof campaigns. The secondcaliph, Umar, shaped the umma’s policy of expansion of

power.Thecaliphknewthattheummacouldnotbemaintainedoutofthemodestincomederivedfrom

trade and taxes. Realising that rich booty (ghanima) could be obtained from expeditionary raids, the

caliph and his military commanders mustered their tribal strength to conquer lands belonging to the

Byzantine Empire in the west and the Sasanian empire in the east. At the height of their power, the

Byzantine and Sasanian empires ruled vast territories and commanded huge resources to pursue their

political and commercial interests in Arabia. The Byzantine Empire promoted Christianity and the

SasanianempirepatronisedZoroastrianism,theancientreligionofIran.OntheeveoftheArabinvasions,

thesetwoempireshaddeclinedinstrengthduetoreligiousconflictsandrevoltsbythearistocracy.This

madeiteasierfortheArabstoannexterritoriesthroughwarsandtreaties.Inthreesuccessfulcampaigns

(637-642),theArabsbroughtSyria,Iraq,IranandEgyptunderthecontrolofMedina.Militarystrategy,

religious fervour and the weakness of the opposition contributed to the success of the Arabs. Further

campaigns were launched by the third caliph, Uthman, to extend the control to Central Asia. Within a

decadeofthedeathofMuhammad,theArab-IslamicstatecontrolledthevastterritorybetweentheNile

andtheOxus.TheselandsremainunderMuslimruletothisday.

Map1:TheIslamicLands

ExpansionofIslamunderMuhammad

CentralIslamiclandsc.750

Inalltheconqueredprovinces,thecaliphsimposedanewadministrativestructureheadedbygovernors

(amirs)andtribalchieftains(ashraf).Thecentraltreasury(baital-mal)obtaineditsrevenuefromtaxes

paidby Muslims aswellas its shareof thebooty from raids.The caliph’ssoldiers, mostly Bedouins,

settledincampcitiesattheedgeofthedesert,suchasKufaandBasra,toremainwithinreachoftheir

natural habitat as well as the caliph’s command. The ruling class and soldiers received shares of the

booty and monthly payments (ata). The non-Muslim population retained their rights to property and

religiouspracticesonpaymentoftaxes(kharajandjiziya).JewsandChristiansweredeclaredprotected

subjectsofthestate(dhimmis)andgivenalargemeasureofautonomyintheconductoftheircommunal

affairs.

PoliticalexpansionandunificationdidnotcomeeasilytotheArabtribesmen.Withterritorialexpansion,

theunityoftheummabecamethreatenedbyconflictsoverthedistributionofresourcesandoffices.The

rulingclassoftheearlyIslamicstatecomprisedalmostentirelytheQurayshofMecca.Thethirdcaliph,

Uthman(644-56),alsoaQuraysh,packedhisadministrationwithhisownmentosecuregreatercontrol.

This further intensified the Meccan character of the state and the conflict with the other tribesmen.

OppositioninIraqandEgypt,combinedwithoppositioninMedina,ledtotheassassinationofUthman.

WithUthman’sdeath,Alibecamethefourthcaliph.

TheriftsamongtheMuslimsdeepenedafterAli(656-61)foughttwowarsagainstthosewhorepresented

theMeccan aristocracy. Ali’s supporters and enemieslater cameto form the two main sects of Islam:

ShiasandSunnis.AliestablishedhimselfatKufaanddefeatedanarmyledbyMuhammad’swife,Aisha,

intheBattleoftheCamel(657).Hewas,however,notabletosuppressthefactionledbyMuawiya,a

kinsman of Uthman and the governor of Syria. Ali’s second battle, at Siffin (northern Mesopotamia),

endedinatrucewhichsplithisfollowersintotwogroups:someremainedloyaltohim,whileothersleft

thecampandcametobeknownasKharjis.Soonafter,AliwasassassinatedbyaKharjiinamosqueat

Kufa.Afterhisdeath,hisfollowerspaidallegiancetohisson,Hussain,andhisdescendants.Muawiya

madehimselfthenextcaliphin661,foundingtheUmayyaddynastywhichlastedtill750.

Afterthecivilwars,itappearedasifArabdominationwoulddisintegrate.Therewerealsosignsthatthe

tribalconquerorswereadoptingthesophisticatedcultureoftheirsubjects.ItwasundertheUmayyads,a

prosperousclanoftheQurayshtribe,thatasecondroundofconsolidationtookplace.

TheUmayyadsandtheCentralisationofPolity

The conquest of large territories destroyed the caliphate based in Medina and replaced it with an

increasingly authoritarian polity. The Umayyads implemented a series of political measures which

consolidatedtheirleadershipwithintheumma.ThefirstUmayyadcaliph,Muawiya,movedhiscapitalto

DamascusandadoptedthecourtceremoniesandadministrativeinstitutionsoftheByzantineEmpire.He

alsointroducedhereditarysuccessionandpersuadedtheleadingMuslimstoaccepthissonashisheir.

Theseinnovationswereadoptedbythecaliphswhofollowedhim,andallowedtheUmayyadstoretain

powerfor90yearsandtheAbbasids,fortwocenturies.

TheUmayyadstatewasnowanimperialpower,nolongerbaseddirectlyonIslambutonstatecraftand

theloyaltyofSyriantroops.TherewereChristianadvisersintheadministration,aswellasZoroastrian

scribes and bureaucrats. However, Islam continued to provide legitimacy to their rule. The Umayyads

alwaysappealedforunityandsuppressedrebellionsinthenameofIslam.TheyalsoretainedtheirArab

socialidentity.DuringthereignofAbdal-Malik(685-705)andhissuccessors,boththeArabandIslamic

identitieswerestronglyemphasised.AmongthemeasuresAbdal-MaliktookweretheadoptionofArabic

as thelanguageofadministrationandtheintroductionofanIslamiccoinage.Thegolddinar and silver

dirhamthathadbeencirculatinginthecaliphatewerecopiesofByzantineandIraniancoins(denariusand

drachm), with symbols of crosses and fire altars and Greek and Pahlavi (the language of Iran)

inscriptions.ThesesymbolswereremovedandthecoinsnowcarriedArabicinscriptions.Abdal-Malik

alsomadeahighlyvisiblecontributiontothe developmentof anArab-Islamicidentity,bybuildingthe

DomeoftheRockinJerusalem.

TheDomeoftheRock,builtoverarockymoundbyAbdal-Malik,istheearliestmajorworkofIslamicarchitecture.Createdasa

monumenttotheMuslimpresenceinthecityofJerusalem,itacquiredamysticalassociationconnectedwiththeNightJourneyofthe

ProphettoHeaven(miraj).

Abdal-Malik’sCoinageReform

ThethreecoinspecimensshowthetransitionfromByzantinetoArab-Islamiccoinage.Onthesecondcoin,thebeardedandlong-haired

caliphisdressedintraditionalArabrobesandisholdingasword.ItisthefirstextantportraitofaMuslim.Itisalsouniquebecauselater

theredeveloped anantipathytowardstherepresentationof living beingsin artandcraft.Abd al-Malik’sreformofcoinagewas linked

withhisreorganisationofstatefinances.Itprovedsosuccessfulthatforhundredsofyears,coinswerestruckaccordingtothepattern

andweightofthethirdspecimen.

Byzantinegoldsolidus(denariusaureus)showingtheemperorHeracliusandhistwosons.

PortraitgolddinarstruckbyAbdal-Malikwithhisnameandimage.

Thereformeddinarwaspurelyepigraphic.Itcarriesthekalima:‘ThereisnoGodbutAllahandHehasnopartner(sharik)’

TheAbbasidRevolution

FortheirsuccessincentralisingtheMuslimpolity,theUmayyadspaidaheavyprice.Awell-organised

movement,calleddawa,broughtdowntheUmayyadsandreplacedthemwithanotherfamilyofMeccan

origin, the Abbasids, in 750. The Abbasids portrayed the Umayyad regime as evil and promised a

restoration of theoriginalIslam of the Prophet. The revolution lednot only to a change of dynasty but

changesinthepoliticalstructureandcultureofIslam.

TheAbbasiduprisingbrokeoutinthedistantregionofKhurasan(easternIran),a20-dayjourneyfrom

Damascusonafasthorse.KhurasanhadamixedArab-Iranianpopulationwhichcouldbemobilisedfor

various reasons. The Arab soldiers here were mostly from Iraq and resented the dominance of the

Syrians.ThecivilianArabsofKhurasandislikedtheUmayyadregimeforhavingmadepromisesoftax

concessionsandprivilegeswhichwereneverfulfilled.AsfortheIranianMuslims(mawali),theywere

exposed to the scorn of the race-conscious Arabs and were eager to join any campaign to oust the

Umayyads.

TheAbbasids,descendantsofAbbas,theProphet’suncle,musteredthesupportofthevariousdissident

groups and legitimised their bidforpowerby promising that a messiah(mahdi)from the familyof the

Prophet(ahlal-bayt)wouldliberatethemfromtheoppressiveUmayyadregime.Theirarmywasledby

an Iranian slave, AbuMuslim, who defeated the lastUmayyad caliph, Marwan, in a battle atthe river

Zab.

Under Abbasid rule, Arab influence declined, while the importance of Iranian culture increased. The

AbbasidsestablishedtheircapitalatBaghdad,neartheruinsoftheancientIranianmetropolis,Ctesiphon.

Thearmyandbureaucracywerereorganisedonanon-tribalbasistoensuregreaterparticipationbyIraq

and Khurasan. The Abbasid rulers strengthened the religious status and functions of the caliphate and

patronisedIslamicinstitutionsandscholars.Buttheywereforcedbytheneedsofgovernmentandempire

to retain the centralised nature of the state. They maintained the magnificent imperial architecture and

elaboratecourtceremonialsoftheUmayyads.Theregimewhichtookprideinhavingbroughtdownthe

monarchyfounditselfcompelledtoestablishitagain.

TheGreatMosqueofal-MutawwakilinSamarra(thesecondAbbasidcapital)builtin850.Theminaris50metreshigh,andismade

ofbrick.InspiredbyMesopotamianarchitecturaltraditions,thiswasthelargestmosqueintheworldforcenturies.

Break-upoftheCaliphateandtheRiseofSultanates

The Abbasid state became weaker from the ninth century because Baghdad’s control over the distant

provincesdeclined,andbecauseofconflictbetweenpro-Arabandpro-Iranianfactionsinthearmyand

bureaucracy.In810,acivilwarbrokeoutbetweensupportersofAminandMamun,sonsofthecaliph

Harun al-Rashid, which deepened the factionalism and created a new power bloc of Turkish slave

officers (mamluk). Shiism once again competed with Sunni orthodoxy for power. A number of minor

dynastiesarose,suchastheTahiridsandSamanidsinKhurasanandTransoxiana(Turanorlandsbeyond

the Oxus), and the Tulunids in Egypt and Syria. Abbasid power was soon limited to central Iraq and

western Iran. That too waslost in945whentheBuyids, aShiiteclan fromthe Caspian regionof Iran

(Daylam), captured Baghdad. The Buyid rulers assumed various titles, including the ancient Iranian

titleshahanshah(kingofkings),butnotthatofcaliph.TheykepttheAbbasidcaliphasthesymbolichead

oftheirSunnisubjects.

Activity1

Identify the changing locations ofthecaliphate’scapital. Which would you say was

mostcentrallysituated?

Thedecisionnottoabolishthecaliphatewasashrewdone,becauseanotherShiitedynasty,theFatimids,

had ambitions to rule the Islamic world. The Fatimids belonged to the Ismaili sub-sect of Shiism and

claimedtobedescendedfromtheProphet’sdaughter,Fatima,andhence,thesolerightfulrulersofIslam.

FromtheirbaseinNorthAfrica,theyconqueredEgyptin969andestablishedtheFatimidcaliphate.The

oldcapitalofEgypt,Fustat,wasreplacedbyanewcity,Qahira(Cairo),foundedonthedayoftheriseof

theplanetMars(Mirrikh,alsocalledal-Qahir).ThetworivaldynastiespatronisedShiiteadministrators,

poetsandscholars.

Between 950 and 1200, Islamic society was held together not by a single political order or a single

languageofculture(Arabic)butbycommoneconomicandculturalpatterns.Unityinthefaceofpolitical

divisionswasmaintainedbytheseparation betweenstateandsociety,thedevelopmentof Persianasa

languageofIslamichighculture,andthematurityofthedialoguebetweenintellectualtraditions.Scholars,

artistsandmerchantsmovedfreelywithinthecentralIslamiclandsandassuredthecirculationofideas

andmanners.Someofthesealsopercolateddowntothelevelofvillagesduetoconversion.TheMuslim

population,lessthan10percentintheUmayyadandearlyAbbasidperiods,increasedenormously.The

identityofIslamasareligionandaculturalsystemseparatefromotherreligionsbecamemuchsharper,

whichmadeconversionpossibleandmeaningful.

AthirdethnicgroupwasaddedtotheArabsandIranians,withtheriseoftheTurkishsultanatesinthe

tenthandeleventhcenturies.TheTurkswerenomadictribesfromtheCentralAsiansteppes(grasslands)

ofTurkistan(north-eastoftheAralSeauptothebordersofChina)whograduallyconvertedtoIslam(see

Theme5).TheywereskilledridersandwarriorsandenteredtheAbbasid,SamanidandBuyid

administrationsas slavesandsoldiers,rising tohigh positionson account of theirloyalty and military

abilities. The Ghaznavid sultanate was established by Alptegin (961) and consolidated by Mahmud of

Ghazni(998-1030).LiketheBuyids,theGhaznavidswereamilitarydynastywithaprofessionalarmyof

TurksandIndians(oneofthegeneralsofMahmudwasanIndiannamedTilak).Buttheircentreofpower

was in Khurasan and Afghanistan and for them, the Abbasid caliphs were not rivals but a source of

legitimacy.Mahmudwasconsciousofbeingthesonofaslaveandwasespeciallyeagertoreceivethe

titleofSultanfromthecaliph.ThecaliphwaswillingtosupporttheSunniGhaznavidasacounterweight

toShiitepower.

TheSaljuqTurksenteredTuranassoldiersinthearmiesoftheSamanidsandQarakhanids(non-Muslim

Turksfromfurthereast).Theylaterestablishedthemselvesasapowerfulgroupundertheleadershipof

twobrothers,TughrilandChaghriBeg.TakingadvantageofthechaosfollowingthedeathofMahmudof

Ghazni,theSaljuqsconqueredKhurasanin1037andmadeNishapur*theirfirstcapital.TheSaljuqsnext

turnedtheirattentiontowesternPersiaandIraq(ruledbytheBuyids)andin1055,restoredBaghdadto

Sunnirule.Thecaliph,al-Qaim,conferredonTughrilBegthetitleofSultaninamovethatmarkedthe

separationofreligiousandpoliticalauthority.ThetwoSaljuqbrothersruledtogetherinaccordancewith

thetribalnotionofrulebythefamilyasawhole.Tughril(d.1064)wassucceededbyhisnephew,Alp

Arsalan.DuringAlpArsalan’sreign,theSaljuqempireexpandedtoAnatolia(modernTurkey).

*AnimportantPerso-IslamiccentreoflearningandthebirthplaceofUmarKhayyam.

Fromtheeleventhtothethirteenthcenturies,therewasaseriesofconflictsbetweenEuropeanChristians

andtheArabstates.Thisisdiscussedbelow.Then,atthestartofthethirteenthcentury,theMuslimworld

found itself on the verge of a great disaster. This was the threat from the Mongols, the last but most

decisiveofallnomadicassaultsonsettledcivilisations(seeTheme5).

TheCrusades

In medievalIslamic societies,Christians wereregarded as the Peopleof the Book (ahlal-kitab) since

theyhadtheirownscripture(theNewTestamentorInjil).Christiansweregrantedsafeconduct(aman)

whileventuringintoMuslimstatesasmerchants,pilgrims,ambassadorsandtravellers.Theseterritories

alsoincludedthosewhichwereonceheldbytheByzantineEmpire,notablytheHolyLandofPalestine.

JerusalemwasconqueredbytheArabsin638butitwasever-presentintheChristianimaginationasthe

placeofJesus’crucifixionandresurrection.Thiswasanimportantfactorintheformationoftheimageof

MuslimsinChristianEurope.

Hostility towards the Muslim world became more pronounced in the eleventh century. Normans,

HungariansandsomeSlavshad

been converted to Christianity, and the Muslims alone remained as the main enemy. There was also a

change in the social and economic organisation of western Europe in the eleventh century which

contributedtothehostilitybetweenChristendomandtheIslamicworld.Theclergyandthewarriorclass

(thefirsttwoorders–seeTheme6)weremakingeffortstoensurepoliticalstabilityaswellaseconomic

growth based on agriculture and trade. The possibilities of military confrontation between competing

feudalprincipalitiesandareturntoeconomicorganisationbasedonplunderwerecontainedbythePeace

of God movement. All military violence was forbidden inside certain areas, near places of worship,

duringcertainperiodsconsideredsacredintheChurch’scalendar,andagainstcertainvulnerablesocial

groups,suchaschurchmenandthecommonpeople.ThePeaceofGoddeflectedtheaggressivetendencies

offeudalsocietyawayfromtheChristianworldandtowardsthe‘enemies’ofGod.Itbuiltaclimatein

whichfightingagainsttheinfidels(non-believers)becamenotonlypermissiblebutalsocommendable.

Aleppo,aHittite,AssyrianandHellenisticsite,whichwasoccupiedbytheArabsin636.Itwasfoughtoverforthenext1,000years;

notetheCrusadersseeninaction.

–Nasuhal-Matraki’sItinerary,1534-36.

Thedeathin1092ofMalikShah,theSaljuqsultanofBaghdad,wasfollowedbythedisintegrationofhis

empire.ThisofferedtheByzantineemperor,AlexiusI,achancetoregainAsiaMinorandnorthernSyria.

ForPopeUrbanII,thiswasanopportunitytorevivethespiritofChristianity.In1095,thePopejoinedthe

ByzantineemperorincallingforawarinthenameofGodtol7iberatetheHolyLand.Between1095and

1291,westernEuropeanChristiansplannedandfoughtwarsagainstMuslimcitiesonthecoastalplainsof

theeasternMediterranean(Levant).ThesewarswerelaterdesignatedasCrusades*.

*ThePopeorderedtheceremonialgrantingofcrossestothosewhohadsworntofight.

In the first crusade (1098-99), soldiers from France and Italy captured Antioch in Syria, and claimed

Jerusalem.TheirvictorywasaccompaniedbytheslaughterofMuslimsandJewsinthecity,chronicled

by both Christians and Muslims. Muslim writers referred to the arrival of the Christians

(calledifrinjiorfirangi)asaFrankishinvasion.TheFranksquicklyestablishedfourcrusaderstatesinthe

regionofSyria-Palestine.Collectively,theseterritorieswereknownasOutremer(thelandoverseas)and

latercrusadesweredirectedatitsdefenceandexpansion.

TheOutremersurvivedwellforsometime,butwhentheTurkscapturedEdessain1144,anappealwas

madebythePopeforasecondcrusade(1145-49).AcombinedGermanandFrencharmymadeanattempt

tocaptureDamascusbut theyweredefeatedandforcedto returnhome. Afterthis,therewasagradual

erosion of the strength of Outremer. Crusader zeal gave way to living in luxury and to battles over

territoryamongtheChristianrulers.Salahal-Din(Saladin)createdanEgypto-Syrianempireand

gave the call for jihad or holy war against the Christians, and defeated them in 1187. He regained

Jerusalem, nearly a century after the first crusade. Records of the time indicate that Salah al-Din’s

treatmentoftheChristianpopulationwashumane,inmarkedcontrasttothewayinwhichChristianshad

earlierdealtwithMuslimsandJews.AlthoughhegavecustodyoftheChurchoftheHolySepulchretothe

Christians,anumberofchurcheswereturnedintomosques,andJerusalemonceagainbecameaMuslim

city.

The loss of the city prompted a third crusade in 1189, but the crusaders gained little except for some

coastaltownsinPalestineandfreeaccesstoJerusalemforChristianpilgrims.TheMamluks,therulersof

Egypt,finallydrovethecrusadingChristiansfromallofPalestinein1291.Europegraduallylostmilitary

interestinIslamandfocusedonitsinternalpoliticalandculturaldevelopment.

The Crusades leftalasting impact on two aspects of Christian-Muslim relations. One wasthe harsher

attitudeoftheMuslimstatetowardsitsChristiansubjectswhichresultedfromthebittermemoriesofthe

conflict as well as the needs for security in areas of mixed populations. The other was the greater

influenceofItalianmercantilecommunities(fromPisa,GenoaandVenice)inthetradebetweentheEast

andtheWestevenaftertherestorationofMuslimpower.

FranksinSyria

ThetreatmentofthesubjugatedMuslimpopulationdifferedamongthevariousFrankishlords.Theearliestofthecrusaders,whosettled

downinSyriaandPalestine,weregenerallymoretolerantoftheMuslimpopulationthanthosewhocamelater.Inhismemoirs,Usama

ibnMunqidh,atwelfth-centurySyrianMuslim,hassomethinginterestingtosayabouthisnewneighbours:

‘Among the Franks there are some who have settled down in this country and associated with Muslims. These are better than the

newcomers,buttheyareexceptionstotherule,andnoinferencecanbedrawnfromthem.

ACrusadercastleinSyria.Builtduringthecrusades(1110),itwasanimportantbasetoattackArabcontrolledareas.The

towersandaqueductswerebuiltbytheMamluksultan,Baybars,whenhecaptureditin1271.

Hereisanexample.OnceIsentamantoAntiochonbusiness.Atthattime,ChiefTheodoreSophianos[aneasternChristian]wasthere,

andheandIwerefriends.HewasthenallpowerfulinAntioch.Onedayhesaidtomyman,‘‘OneofmyFrankishfriendshasinvited

me.Comewithmeandseehowtheylive.’’Mymantoldme:“SoIwentwithhim,andwecametothehouseofoneoftheoldknights,

those who had come with the first Frankish expedition. He had already retired from state and militaryservice, and had a property in

Antiochfromwhichhelived.Heproducedafinetable,withfoodbothtastyandcleanlyserved.HesawthatIwasreluctanttoeat,and

said:“Eattoyourheart’scontent,forIdonoteatFrankishfood.IhaveEgyptianwomencooksandeatnothingbutwhattheyprepare,

nordoesswineflesheverentermyhouse.”SoIate,butwithsomecaution,andwetookourleave.

LaterIwaswalkingthroughthemarket,whensuddenlyaFrankishwomancaughtholdofmeandbeganjabberingintheirlanguage,andI

could not understand what she was saying. A crowd of Franks collected against me, and I was sure that my end had come. Then,

suddenly,thatsameknightappearedandsawme,andcameuptothatwoman,andaskedher:“WhatdoyouwantofthisMuslim?”She

replied:“HekilledmybrotherHurso.”ThisHursowasaknightofAfamiyawhohadbeenkilledbysomeonefromthearmyofHama.

Thentheknightshoutedatherandsaid,“Thismanisaburjasi[bourgeois,thatis,amerchant].Hedoesnotfightorgotowar.”Andhe

shoutedatthecrowdandtheydispersed;thenhetookmyhandandwentaway.SotheeffectofthatmealthatIhadwastosaveme

fromdeath.”’

–Kitabal-Itibar.

Economy:Agriculture,UrbanisationandCommerce

Agriculture wasthe principal occupation of the settled populationsin the newly conquered territories.

TheIslamicstatemadenochangesinthis.Landwasownedbybigandsmallpeasantsand,insomecases,

bythestate.InIraqandIran,landexistedinfairlylargeunitscultivatedbypeasants.Theestateowners

collected taxes on behalfof the state during the Sasanian as wellasIslamic periods.In areas thathad

moved from a pastoral to a settled agricultural system, land was the common property of the village.

Finally,bigestatesthatwereabandonedbytheirownersaftertheIslamicconquestswereacquiredbythe

state and handed over mainly to the Muslim elites of the empire, particularly members of the caliph’s

family.

Thestatehadoverallcontrolofagriculturallands,derivingthebulkofitsincomefromlandrevenueonce

theconquestswereover.ThelandsconqueredbytheArabsthatremainedinthehandsoftheownerswere

subjecttoatax(kharaj),whichvariedfromhalftoafifthoftheproduce,accordingtotheconditionsof

cultivation. OnlandheldorcultivatedbyMuslims,thetax leviedwasone-tenth(ushr)of the produce.

Whennon-MuslimsstartedtoconverttoIslamtopaylowertaxes,thisreducedtheincomeofthestate.To

address the shortfall, the caliphs first discouraged conversions and later adopted a uniform policy of

taxation.Fromthetenthcenturyonwards,thestateauthoriseditsofficialstoclaimtheirsalaries

fromagriculturalrevenuesfromterritories,callediqtas(revenueassignments).

Agriculturalprosperitywenthandinhandwith politicalstability.Inmanyareas,especiallyintheNile

valley, the state supported irrigation systems, the construction of dams and canals, and the digging of

wells(oftenequippedwithwaterwheelsornoria),allofwhichwerecrucialforgoodharvests.Islamic

lawgavetaxconcessionstopeoplewhobroughtlandundercultivation.Throughpeasantinitiativesand

statesupport,cultivablelandexpandedandproductivityrose,evenintheabsenceofmajortechnological

changes.Manynewcropssuchascotton,oranges,bananas,watermelons,spinachandbrinjals(badinjan)

weregrownandevenexportedtoEurope.

Grainharvesting;thelabourers’lunchisbeingbroughtonatray.

–ArabicversionofthePseudo-Galen’sBookofAntidotes,1199(seethestoryofDoctorGalen,p.63).

Islamiccivilisationflourishedasthenumberofcitiesgrewphenomenally.Manynewcitieswerefounded,

mainlyto settleArabsoldiers (jund)whoformedthebackbone ofthelocaladministration.Amongthis

classofgarrison-cities,calledmisr(theArabicnameforEgypt),wereKufaandBasrainIraq,andFustat

and Cairo in Egypt. Within half a century of its establishment as the capital of the Abbasid caliphate

(800),thepopulationofBaghdadhadreachedaround1million.Alongsidethesecitieswereoldertowns

suchasDamascus,IsfahanandSamarqand,whichreceivedanewleaseoflife.Theirsizeandpopulation

surged,supportedbyanexpansionintheproductionoffoodgrainsandrawmaterialssuchascottonand

sugarforurbanmanufactures.Avasturbannetworkdeveloped,linkingonetownwithanotherandforming

acircuit.

At the heart of the city were two building complexes radiating cultural and economic power: the

congregational mosque (masjid al-jami), big enough to be seen from a distance, and the central

marketplace(suq),withshopsinarow,merchants’lodgings(fanduq)andtheofficeofthemoney-changer.

Thecitieswerehomestoadministrators(ayanoreyesofthestate),andscholarsandmerchants(tujjar)

wholivedclosetothecentre.Ordinarycitizensandsoldiershadtheirlivingquartersintheoutercircle,

eachfittedwithitsownmosque,churchorsynagogue(Jewishtemple),subsidiarymarketandpublicbath

(hammam),animportantmeetingplace.Attheoutskirtswerethehousesoftheurbanpoor,amarketfor

green vegetablesandfruitsbroughtfrom thecountryside, caravan stationsand ‘unclean’ shops, suchas

thosedealingintanningorbutchering.Beyondthecitywallswereinnsforpeopletorestwhenthecity

gates wereshut and cemeteries.There werevariationson this typology depending on thenatureofthe

landscape,politicaltraditionsandhistoricalevents.

AboatsailingtoBasra.ThecrewareIndianandthepassengersArab.Thetransportofgoodsandpassengersbywaterwascheaper,

quickerandsaferinpre-moderntimes.IllustrationfromtheMaqamatwrittenbyHariri(twelfth-centurymanuscript).

TheMaqamat(Assemblies)wereagenreofpopularArabicliteratureinwhichanarratortellsstoriesofatricksterandhis

escapades.

Political unification and urban demand for foodstuffs and luxuries enlarged the circuit of exchange.

GeographyfavouredtheMuslimempire,whichspreadbetweenthetradingzonesoftheIndianOceanand

theMediterranean.Forfivecenturies,ArabandIraniantradersmonopolisedthemaritimetradebetween

China,IndiaandEurope.Thistradepassedthroughtwomajorroutes,namely,theRedSeaandthePersian

Gulf.High-valuegoodssuitableforlong-distancetrade,suchasspices,textile,porcelainandgunpowder,

wereshippedfromIndiaandChinatotheRedSeaportsofAdenandAydhabandtheGulfportsofSiraf

andBasra.

Fromhere,themerchandisewascarriedoverlandincamelcaravanstothewarehouses(makhazin,origin

ofthewordmagazinewhichhasasimilarcollectionofarticles)ofBaghdad,DamascusandAleppofor

local consumption or onward transmission. The caravans passing through Mecca got bigger whenever

thehajjcoincidedwiththesailingseasons(mawasim,originofthewordmonsoon)intheIndianOcean.

At the Mediterranean end of these trade routes, exports to Europe from the port of Alexandria were

handledbyJewishmerchants,someofwhomtradeddirectlywithIndia,ascanbeseenfromtheirletters

preserved in the Geniza collection. However, from the tenth century, the Red Sea route gained greater

importanceduetotheriseofCairoasacentreofcommerceandpowerandgrowingdemandforeastern

goodsfromthetradingcitiesofItaly.

Activity2

DescribeamorningsceneinBasra.

Paper,GenizaRecordsandHistory

In thecentral Islamiclands,writtenworkswerewidely circulatedafterthe introductionofpaper. Paper(madefromlinen)camefrom

China,wherethemanufacturingprocesswasacloselyguardedsecret.In751,theMuslimgovernorofSamarqandtook20,000Chinese

invadersasprisoners,someofwhomweregoodatmakingpaper.Forthenext100years,Samarqandpaperremainedanimportantexport

item.SinceIslam prohibited monopolies, paperbegan to be manufactured intherestof the Islamicworld. Bythemiddle ofthetenth

century,ithadmoreorlessreplacedpapyrus,thewritingmaterialmadefromtheinnerstemofaplantthatgrewfreelyintheNilevalley.

Demandforpaperincreased,andAbdal-Latif,adoctorfromBaghdad(seehisdepictionoftheidealstudentonp.98)andaresidentof

Egyptbetween1193and1207,reportedhowEgyptianpeasantsrobbedgravestoobtainmummywrappingsmadeoflinentoselltopaper

factories.

Paper also facilitated the writing of commercial and personal documents of all kinds. In 1896, a huge collection of medieval Jewish

documents wasdiscoveredin a sealed room (Geniza, pronouncedghaniza) ofthe Ben Ezrasynagogue inFustat. The documents had

beenpreserved thankstotheJewish practice ofnotdestroyingany pieceof writingthatcontainedthenameof God.TheGenizawas

foundtocontainoveraquarterofamillionmanuscriptsandfragmentsdatingbackasfarasthemid-eighthcentury.Mostofthematerial

datedfrom thetenthtothethirteenth centuries, that is, from theFatimid,AyyubidandearlyMamluk periods. Theseincludedpersonal

lettersbetweenmerchants,familyandfriends,contracts,promisesofdowry,saledocuments,laundrylists,andothertrivia.Mostofthe

documents were written in Judaeo-Arabic, a version of Arabic written in Hebrew characters that was commonly used by Jewish

communitiesthroughoutthemedievalMediterranean.TheGenizadocumentsproviderichinsightsintopersonalandeconomicexperiences

as also into Mediterranean and Islamic culture. The documents also suggest that the business skills and commercial techniques of

merchantsofthemedievalIslamicworldweremoreadvancedthanthoseoftheirEuropeancounterparts.Goiteinwroteamulti-volume

historyoftheMediterraneanfromGenizarecords,andAmitavGhoshwasinspiredbyaGenizalettertotellthestoryofanIndianslavein

hisbook,InanAntiqueLand.

Towards the eastern end, caravans of Iranian merchants set out from Baghdad along the Silk Route to

China,viatheoasiscitiesofBukharaandSamarqand(Transoxiana),tobringCentralAsianandChinese

goods, including paper. Transoxiana also formed an important link in the commercial network which

extendednorthtoRussiaandScandinaviafortheexchangeofEuropeangoods,(mainlyfur)andSlavic

captives (hence the word, slave). Islamic coins, used for the payment of these goods, were found in

hoards discovered along the Volga river and in the Baltic region. Male and female Turkish slaves

(ghulam)toowerepurchasedinthesemarketsforthecourtsofthecaliphsandsultans.

Thefiscalsystem(incomeandexpenditureofthestate)andmarketexchangeincreasedtheimportanceof

moneyinthecentralIslamiclands.Coinsofgold,silverandcopper(fulus)weremintedandcirculated,

ofteninbagssealedbymoney-changers,topayforgoodsandservices.GoldcamefromAfrica(Sudan)

and silver from Central Asia (Zarafshan valley). Precious metals and coins also came from Europe,

whichused thesetopayforitstradewiththeEast.Risingdemandformoney forcedpeopletorelease

theiraccumulatedreservesandidlewealth intocirculation.Creditcombinedwithcurrenciesto oilthe

wheelsofcommerce.ThegreatestcontributionoftheMuslimworldtomedievaleconomiclifewasthe

developmentofsuperiormethodsofpaymentandbusinessorganisation.Lettersofcredit(sakk,originof

thewordcheque)andbillsofexchange(suftaja)wereusedbymerchantsandbankerstotransfermoney

fromoneplaceorindividualtoanother.Thewidespreaduseofcommercialpapersfreedmerchantsfrom

theneedtocarrycasheverywhereandalsomadetheirjourneyssafer.Thecaliphtoousedthesakktopay

salariesorrewardpoetsandminstrels.

Althoughitwascustomaryformerchantstosetupfamilybusinessesoremployslavestoruntheiraffairs,

formalbusinessarrangements(muzarba)werealsocommoninwhichsleepingpartnersentrustedcapital

totravellingmerchantsandsharedprofitsandlossesinanagreedproportion.Islamdidnotstoppeople

from making money so long as certain prohibitions were respected. For instance, interest-bearing

transactions(riba)wereunlawful,althoughpeoplecircumventedusuryiningeniousways(hiyal),suchas

borrowingmoneyinonetypeofcoinandpayinginanotherwhiledisguisingtheinterestasacommission

oncurrencyexchange(theoriginofthebillofexchange).

ManytalesfromtheThousandandOneNights(AlfLaylawaLayla)giveusapictureofmedievalIslamic

society,featuringcharacterssuchassailors,slaves,merchantsandmoney-changers.

LearningandCulture

AsthereligiousandsocialexperiencesoftheMuslimsdeepenedthroughcontactwithotherpeople,the

community was obliged toreflect on itself and confront issues pertaining toGod and the world. What

shouldbetheidealconductofaMusliminpublicandprivate?WhatistheobjectofCreationandhow

does one know what God wants from His creatures? How can one understand the mysteries of the

universe?AnswerstosuchquestionscamefromlearnedMuslimswhoacquiredandorganisedknowledge

ofdifferentkindstostrengthenthesocialidentityofthecommunityaswellastosatisfytheirintellectual

curiosity.

Forreligiousscholars(ulama),knowledge(ilm)derivedfromtheQuranandthemodelbehaviourofthe

Prophet(sunna)wastheonlywaytoknowthewillofGodandprovideguidanceinthisworld.Theulama

inmedievaltimesdevoted themselves to writing tafsir and documenting Muhammad’sauthentic hadith.

Some went on to prepare a body of laws or sharia (the straight path) to govern the relationship of

Muslims with God through rituals (ibadat) and with the rest of the humanity through social affairs

(muamalat).InframingIslamiclaw,juristsalsomadeuseofreasoning(qiyas)sincenoteverythingwas

apparentintheQuranorhadithandlifehadbecomeincreasinglycomplexwithurbanisation.Differences

intheinterpretationofthesourcesandmethodsofjurisprudenceledtotheformationoffourschoolsof

law(mazhab)intheeightandninthcenturies.TheseweretheMaliki,Hanafi,ShafiiandHanbalischools,

each named after a leading jurist (faqih), the last being the most conservative. The sharia provided

guidanceon all possible legal issueswithin Sunni society, though it was more precise on questions of

personal status (marriage, divorce and inheritance) than on commercial matters or penal and

constitutionalissues.

CourtyardofMustansiriyaMadrasaofBaghdad,foundedin1233.Themadrasawasacollegeoflearningforstudentswhohad

finishedtheirschoolinginmaktab.Madrasaswereattachedtomosquesbutbigmadrasashadamosqueattachedtothem.

TheQuran

‘Andifallthetreesonearthwerepensandtheoceanwereink

withsevenoceansbehindittoaddtoitssupply,

yetwouldnotthewordsofAllahbeexhaustedinthewriting.’

(Quran,chapter31,verse27)

TheQuranisabookinArabicdividedinto114chapters(suras)andarrangedindescendingorderoflength,theshortestbeingthelast.

Theonlyexceptiontothisisthefirstsurawhichisashortprayer(al-fatihaoropening).AccordingtoMuslimtradition,theQuranisa

collectionofmessages(revelations)whichGodsenttotheProphetMuhammadbetween610and632,firstinMeccaandtheninMedina.

Thetaskofcompilingtheserevelationswascompletedsometimein650.TheoldestcompleteQuranwehavetodaydatesfromtheninth

century.Therearemanyfragmentswhichareolder,theearliestbeingtheversesengravedontheDomeoftheRockandoncoinsinthe

seventhcentury.

TheuseoftheQuranasasourcematerialforthehistoryofearlyIslamhasposedsomeproblems.Thefirstisthatitisascripture,atext

vestedwithreligiousauthority.TheologiansgenerallybelievedthatasthespeechofGod(kalamallah),ithastobeunderstoodliterally,but

rationalistsamongthemgavewiderinterpretationstotheQuran.In833,theAbbasidcaliphal-Mamunimposedtheview(inatrialoffaith

ormihna)thattheQuranisGod’screationratherthanHisspeech.ThesecondproblemisthattheQuranveryoftenspeaksinmetaphors

and,unliketheOldTestament(Tawrit),itdoesnotnarrateeventsbutonlyreferstothem.MedievalIslamicscholarsthushadtomake

senseofmanyverseswiththehelpofhadith.ManyhadithwerewrittentohelpthereadingoftheQuran.

PagefromaQuranwrittenonvellumintheninthcentury.ItisthebeginningofSura18,‘al-Kahf’(TheCave)whichrefersto

Moses,theSevenSleepersofEphesusandAlexander(ZulqarNayn).TheangularKufiscripthasvowelsignsinredforthe

correctpronunciationofthelanguage.

Beforeittookitsfinalform,theshariawasadjustedtotakeintoaccountthecustomarylaws(urf)ofthe

variousregionsaswellasthelawsofthestateonpoliticalandsocialorder(siyasasharia).Customary

laws,however,retainedtheirstrengthinlargepartsofthecountrysideandcontinuedtobypassthesharia

inmatterssuch as theinheritanceof landbydaughters. Inmost regimes,the ruler or hisofficialsdealt

routinelywithmattersofstatesecurityandsentonlyselectedcasestotheqazi(judge).

A group of religious-minded people in medieval Islam, known as Sufis, sought a deeper and more

personalknowledgeofGodthroughasceticism(rahbaniya)andmysticism.Themoresocietygaveitself

uptomaterialpursuitsandpleasures,themoretheSufissoughttorenouncetheworld(zuhd)andrelyon

Godalone(tawakkul).Intheeighthandninthcenturies,asceticinclinationswereelevatedtothehigher

stageofmysticism (tasawwuf)bytheideasofpantheismandlove.Pantheism istheideaof onenessof

GodandHiscreationwhichimpliesthatthehumansoulmustbeunitedwithitsMaker.UnitywithGod

canbeachievedthroughanintenseloveforGod(ishq),whichthewoman-saintRabiaofBasra(d.891)

preachedinherpoems.BayazidBistami(d.874),anIranianSufi,wasthefirsttoteachtheimportanceof

submerging theself (fana) in God. Sufis usedmusical concerts (sama) to induce ecstasy and stimulate

emotionsofloveandpassion.

Sufismisopentoallregardlessofreligiousaffiliation,statusandgender.DhulnunMisri(d.861),whose

gravecanstillbeseennearthePyramidsinEgypt,declaredbeforetheAbbasidcaliph,al-Mutawakkil,

thathe‘learnttrueIslamfromanoldwoman,andtruechivalryfromawatercarrier’.Bymakingreligion

morepersonalandlessinstitutional,SufismgainedpopularityandposedachallengetoorthodoxIslam.

An alternative vision of God and the universe was developed by Islamic philosophers and scientists

undertheinfluenceofGreekphilosophyandscience.Duringtheseventhcentury,remnantsoflateGreek

culturecouldstillbefoundintheByzantineandSasanianempires,althoughtheywereslowlydying.Inthe

schools of Alexandria, Syria and Mesopotamia, once part of Alexander’s empire, Greek philosophy,

mathematics and medicine were taught along with other subjects. The Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs

commissionedthetranslationof GreekandSyriacbooksintoArabicbyChristian scholars.Translation

became a well-organisedactivityunderal-Mamun, whosupportedtheLibrary cumInstituteof Science

(Baytal-Hikma)inBaghdadwherethescholarsworked.TheworksofAristotle,theElementsofEuclid

and Ptolemy’s Almagest were brought to the attention of Arabic-reading scholars. Indian works on

astronomy, mathematics and medicine were also translated into Arabic during the same period. These

worksreachedEuropeandkindledinterestinphilosophyandscience.

Paintingofwhirlingdervishes,Iranianmanuscript,1490.Ofthefourmendancing,onlyoneisshownwithhishandsinthe‘correct’

position.Somehavesuccumbedtovertigoandarebeingledaway.

TheIdealStudent

Abdal-Latif,atwelfth-centurylegalandmedicalscholarofBaghdad,talkstohisidealstudent:

‘Icommendyounottolearnyoursciencesfrombooksunaided,eventhoughyoumaytrustyourabilitytounderstand.Resorttoteachers

foreachscienceyouseektoacquire;andshouldyourteacherbelimitedinhisknowledgetakeallthathecanoffer,untilyoufindanother

more accomplished than he. You must venerate and respect him. When you read a book, make every effort tolearn it by heart and

master its meaning. Imagine thebook to have disappeared andthat you can dispense with it, unaffectedby its loss. One shouldread

histories, study biographies and the experiences of nations. By doing this, it will be as though, in his short life space, he lived

contemporaneously with peoples of thepast, was on intimate terms with them, and knew the good andbad amongthem. You should

modelyourconductonthatoftheearlyMuslims.Therefore,readthebiographyoftheProphetandfollowinhisfootsteps.Youshould

frequently distrust your nature, rather than have a good opinion of it, submitting your thoughts to men of learning and their works,

proceedingwithcautionandavoidinghaste.Hewhohasnotenduredthestressofstudywillnottastethejoyofknowledge.Whenyou

havefinishedyourstudyandreflection,occupyyourtonguewiththementionofGod’sname,andsingHispraises.Donotcomplainifthe

worldturnsitsbackonyou.Knowthatlearningleavesatrailandascentproclaimingitspossessor;arayoflightandbrightnessshining

onhim,pointinghimout.’

–AhmadibnalQasimibnAbiUsaybia,UyunalAnba.

Activity3

Commentonthispassage.Woulditberelevanttoastudenttoday?

ThestudyofnewsubjectspromotedcriticalinquiryandhadaprofoundinfluenceonIslamicintellectual

life.Scholarswithatheologicalbentofmind,suchasthegroupknownasMutazila,usedGreeklogicand

methodsof reasoning (kalam) to defend Islamic beliefs. Philosophers (falasifa) posed wider questions

and provided fresh answers. Ibn Sina (980-1037), a doctor by profession and a philosopher, did not

believeintheresurrectionofthebodyontheDayofJudgement.Thiswasmetwithstrongoppositionfrom

theologians.Hismedicalwritingswerewidelyread.Themostinfluentialwasal-QanunfilTibb(Canon

of Medicine), a million-word manuscript that lists 760 drugs sold by the pharmacists of his day and

includes notes on his own experiments conducted in hospitals (bimaristan). The Canon points out the

importanceofdietetics(healingthroughdietaryregulation),theinfluenceoftheclimateandenvironment

onhealthandthecontagiousnatureofsomediseases.TheCanonwasusedasatextbookinEurope,where

the author was known as Avicenna (see Theme 7). Just before his death, the scientist and poet Umar

Khayyam was said to be reading the Canon. His gold toothpick was found between two pages of the

chapteronmetaphysics.

InmedievalIslamicsocieties,finelanguageandacreativeimaginationwereamongthemostappreciated

qualitiesinaperson.Thesequalitiesraisedaperson’scommunicationtothelevelofadab,atermwhich

implied literary and cultural refinement. Adab forms of expressions included poetry (nazm or orderly

arrangement)andprose(nathrorscatteredwords)whichweremeanttobememorisedandusedwhenthe

occasion arose. The most popular poetic composition of pre-Islamic origin was the ode (qasida),

developedbypoetsoftheAbbasidperiodtoglorifytheachievementsoftheirpatrons.PoetsofPersian

originrevitalisedandreinventedArabicpoetryandchallengedtheculturalhegemonyoftheArabs.Abu

Nuwas (d.815),who was of Persian origin, broke new groundbycomposing classical poetry on new

themessuchaswineandmalelovewiththeintentionofcelebratingpleasuresforbiddenbyIslam.After

Abu Nuwas, the poets addressed the object of their passion in the masculine, even if the latter was a

woman.Followingthesametradition,theSufisglorifiedtheintoxicationcausedbythewineofmystical

love.

BythetimetheArabsconqueredIran,Pahlavi,thelanguageofthesacredbooksofancientIran,wasin

decay.AversionofPahlavi,knownasNewPersian,withahugeArabicvocabulary,soondeveloped.The

formation of sultanates in Khurasan and Transoxiana took New Persian to great cultural heights. The

Samanid court poet Rudaki(d.940) was considered thefatherof NewPersian poetry,which included

newformssuchastheshortlyricalpoem(ghazal)andthequatrain(rubai,pluralrubaiyyat).Therubaiisa

four-linestanzainwhichthefirsttwolinessetthestage,thethirdisfinelypoised,andthefourthdelivers

thepoint.Incontrasttoitsform,thesubjectmatteroftherubaiisunrestricted.Itcanbeusedtoexpress

thebeautyofabeloved,praiseapatron,orexpressthethoughtsofthephilosopher.Therubaireachedits

zenithinthehandsofUmarKhayyam(1048-1131),alsoanastronomerandmathematician,wholivedat

varioustimesinBukhara,SamarqandandIsfahan.

Dimnaistalkingtothelion(asad)inthisminiaturepaintingofathirteenth-centuryArabicmanuscript.

Atthebeginning of the eleventh century, Ghazni became thecentre of Persian literary life. Poetswere

naturally attracted by the brilliance of the imperial court. Rulers, too, realised the importance of

patronisingartsandlearningforenhancingtheirprestige.MahmudofGhaznigatheredaroundhimagroup

of poets who composed anthologies (diwans) and epic poetry (mathnavi). The most outstanding was

Firdausi (d. 1020), who took 30 years to complete the Shahnama (Book of Kings), an epic of 50,000

coupletswhichhasbecomeamasterpieceofIslamicliterature.TheShahnamaisacollectionoftraditions

andlegends(themostpopularbeingthatofRustam),whichpoeticallydepictsIranfromCreationupuntil

theArabconquest.ItwasinkeepingwiththeGhaznavidtraditionthatPersianlaterbecamethelanguage

ofadministrationandcultureinIndia.

Thecatalogue(Kitabal-Fihrist)ofaBaghdadbookseller,IbnNadim(d.895),describesalargenumber

of works written in prose for the moral education and amusement of readers. The oldest of these is a

collectionofanimalfablescalledKalilawaDimna(thenamesofthetwojackalswhoweretheleading

characters)whichistheArabictranslationofaPahlaviversionofthePanchtantra.Themostwidespread

and lasting literary works are the stories of hero-adventurers such as Alexander (al-Iskandar) and

Sindbad, or those of unhappy lovers such as Qays (known as Majnun or the Madman). These have

developed overthe centuries intooraland writtentraditions.The Thousand andOneNights is another

collectionofstoriestoldbyasinglenarrator,Shahrzad,toherhusbandnightafternight.Thecollection

was originally in Indo-Persian and was translated into Arabic in Baghdad in the eighth century. More

stories were later added in Cairo during the Mamluk period. These stories depict human beings of

differenttypes–thegenerous,thestupid,thegullible,thecrafty–andweretoldtoeducateandentertain.

In his Kitabal-Bukhala(Book of Misers), Jahiz of Basra (d. 868) collected amusing anecdotes about

misersandalsoanalysedgreed.

From the ninth century onwards, the scope of adab was expanded to include biographies, manuals of

ethics(akhlaq),MirrorsforPrinces(booksonstatecraft)and,aboveall,history(tarikh)andgeography.

The tradition of history writing waswellestablishedin literateMuslim societies. History bookswere

readbyscholarsandstudentsaswellasbythebroaderliteratepublic.Forrulersandofficials,history

provided a good record of the glories and achievements of a dynasty as well as examples of the

techniques of administration. In the two major historical works, Ansab al-Ashraf (Genealogies of the

Nobles)ofBaladhuri(d.892)andTarikhal-RusulwalMuluk(HistoryofProphetsandKings)ofTabari,

thewholeofhumanhistorywastreatedwiththeIslamicperiodasthefocalpoint.Thetraditionoflocal

history writing developed with the break-up of the caliphate. Books were written in Persian about

dynasties,citiesorregionstoexploretheunityandvarietyoftheworldofIslam.

Mosaicfloorinthebath-houseofthepalaceatKhirbatal-Mafjar,Palestine,eighthcentury.Imaginethecaliphenthronedonthe

tree;thescenebelowdepictspeaceandwar.

Geography and travel (rihla) constituted a special branch of adab. These combined knowledge from

Greek, Iranian and Indian books with the observations of merchants and travellers. In mathematical

geography,theinhabitedworldwasdividedintosevenclimes(singulariqlim)parallelwiththeEquator,

corresponding to our three continents. The exact position of each city was determined astronomically.

Muqaddasi’s(d.1000)descriptivegeography,Ahsanal-Taqasim(TheBestDivisions)isacomparative

studyofthecountriesan7dpeoplesoftheworldandatreasuretroveofexoticcuriosities.Geographyand

general history were combined in Murujal-Dhahab (GoldenMeadows) of Masudi (written in 943) to

illustratethewidevarietyofworldlycultures.Alberuni’sfamousTahqiqmalil-Hind(Historyof India)

was the greatest attempt by an eleventh-century Muslim writer to look beyond the world of Islam and

observewhatwasofvalueinanotherculturaltradition.

By the tenth century, an Islamic world had emerged which was easily recognisable by travellers.

Religiousbuildingswerethegreatestexternalsymbolsofthisworld.Mosques,shrinesandtombsfrom

SpaintoCentralAsiashowedthesamebasicdesign–arches,domes,minaretsandopencourtyards–and

expressedthespiritualandpracticalneedsofMuslims.InthefirstIslamiccentury,themosqueacquireda

distinctarchitecturalform(roofsupportedbypillars)whichtranscendedregionalvariations.Themosque

hadanopencourtyard(sahn)whereafountainorpondwasplaced,leadingtoavaultedhallwhichcould

accommodate long lines of worshippers and the prayer leader (imam). Two special features were

locatedinsidethehall:aniche(mihrab)inthewallindicatingthedirectionofMecca(qibla),andapulpit

(minbar, pronounced mimbar) from where sermons were delivered during noon prayers on Friday.

Attachedtothebuildingwastheminaret,atowerusedtocallthefaithfultoprayerattheappointedtimes

andtosymbolisethepresenceofthenewfaith.Timewasmarkedincitiesandvillagesbythefivedaily

prayersandweeklysermons.

Thesamepattern ofconstruction–ofbuildingsbuiltaroundacentralcourtyard(iwan) –appeared not

onlyinmosquesandmausoleumsbutalsoincaravanserais,hospitalsandpalaces.The Umayyadsbuilt

‘desert palaces’ in oases, such as Khirbat al-Mafjar in Palestine and Qusayr Amra in Jordan, which

servedas luxurious residencesand retreatsforhuntingandpleasure.Thepalaces,modelledon Roman

andSasanianarchitecture,werelavishlydecoratedwithsculptures,mosaicsandpaintingsofpeople.The

AbbasidsbuiltanewimperialcityinSamarraamidstgardensandrunningwaterswhichismentionedin

the stories and legends revolving round Harun al-Rashid. The great palaces of the Abbasid caliphs in

BaghdadortheFatimidsinCairohavedisappeared,leavingonlytracesinliterarytexts.

TheIslamicdecorativegeniusfoundfullexpressionintheartofmetalobjectsthatareamongthebest-preservedspecimens.This

mosquelampfromfourteenth-centurySyriahastheLightverseinscribedonit.‘GodistheLight(nur)oftheheavensandthe

earthHislightislikeaniche(mishkat)withalamp(misbah)ThelampisinaglasswhichlooksasifitwereaglitteringstarKindled

fromablessedolive(zaitun)treethatisneithereasternnorwesternWhoseoilwouldalwaysshineevenifnofire(nar)touched

it’(Quran,chapter24,verse35).

The rejection of representing living beings in the religious art of Islam promoted two art forms:

calligraphy(khattatiortheartofbeautifulwriting)andarabesque(geometricandvegetaldesigns).Small

andbiginscriptions,usuallyofreligiousquotations,wereusedtodecoratearchitecture.Calligraphicart

hasbeenbestpreservedinmanuscriptsoftheQurandatingfromtheeighthandninthcenturies.Literary

works, such asthe Kitabal-Aghani(Book of Songs),Kalila wa Dimna, and Maqamat of Hariri, were

illustrated with miniature paintings. In addition, a wide variety of illumination techniques were

introducedtoenhancethebeautyofabook.Plantandfloraldesigns,basedontheideaofthegarden,were

usedinbuildingsandbookillustrations.

The history of the central Islamic lands brings together three important aspects of human civilisation:

religion,communityandpolitics.Wecanseethemasthreecircleswhichmergeandappearasoneinthe

seventh century. In the next five centuries the circles separate. Towards the end of our period, the

influenceofIslamoverstateandgovernmentwasminimal,andpoliticsinvolvedmanythingswhichhad

nosanctioninreligion(kingship,civilwars,etc.).Thecirclesofreligionandcommunityoverlapped.The

Muslimcommunitywasunitedinitsobservanceoftheshariainritualsandpersonalmatters.Itwasno

moregoverningitself(polticswasaseparatecircle)butitwasdefiningitsreligiousidentity.Theonly

way the circles of religion and community could have separated was through the progressive

secularisation of Muslim society. Philosophers and Sufis advocated this, suggesting that civil society

shouldbemadeautonomous,andritualsbereplacedbyprivatespirituality.

Activity4

Whichofthepicturesinthechapterdoyoulikebestandwhy?

Exercises

Answerinbrief

1.WhatwerethefeaturesofthelivesoftheBedouinsintheearlyseventhcentury?

2.Whatismeantbytheterm‘Abbasidrevolution’?

3.GiveexamplesofthecosmopolitancharacterofthestatessetupbyArabs,IraniansandTurks.

4.WhatweretheeffectsoftheCrusadesonEuropeandAsia?



Answerinashortessay

5.HowwereIslamicarchitecturalformsdifferentfromthoseoftheRomanEmpire?

6.DescribeajourneyfromSamarqandtoDamascus,referringtothecitiesontheroute.

Theme5

NOMADICEMPIRES



The term ‘noma1dic empires’ can appear contradictory: nomads are arguably quintessential

wanderers, organised in family assemblies with a relatively undifferentiated economic life and

rudimentarysystemsofpoliticalorganisation.Theterm‘empire’,ontheotherhand,carrieswithitthe

senseofamateriallocation,astabilityderivedfromcomplexsocialandeconomicstructuresandthe

governanceofanextensiveterritorialdominionthroughanelaborateadministrativesystem.Butthe

juxtapositionsonwhichthesedefinitionsareframedmaybetoonarrowlyandahistoricallyconceived.

Theycertainlycollapsewhenwestudysomeimperialformationsconstructedbynomadicgroups.

InTheme4westudiedstateformationsinthecentralIslamiclandswhoseoriginslayintheBedouin

nomadic traditions of the Arabian peninsula. This chapter studies a different group of nomads: the

MongolsofCentralAsiawhoestablishedatranscontinentalempireundertheleadershipofGenghis

Khan, straddling Europe and Asia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Relative to the

agrarian-based imperial formations in China, the neighbouring nomads of Mongolia may have

inhabited a humbler, less complex, social and economic world. But the Central Asian nomadic

societies were not insulated ‘islands’ that were impervious to historical change. These societies

interacted,hadanimpactonandlearntfromthelargerworldofwhichtheywereverymuchapart.

ThischapterstudiesthemannerinwhichtheMongolsunderGenghisKhanadaptedtheirtraditional

social and political customs to create a fearsome military machine and a sophisticated method of

governance. The challenge of ru7ling a dominion spanning a melange of people, economies, and

confessional systems meant that the Mongols could not simply impose their steppe traditions over

theirrecentlyannexedterritories.Theyinnovatedandcompromised,creatinganomadicempirethat

hadahugeimpactonthehistoryofEurasiaevenasitchangedthecharacterandcompositionoftheir

ownsocietyforever.



Thesteppedwellersthemselvesusuallyproducednoliterature,soourknowledgeofnomadicsocieties

comes mainly from chronicles, travelogues and documents produced by city-based litterateurs. These

authorsoftenproducedextremelyignorantandbiasedreportsofnomadiclife.Theimperialsuccessofthe

Mongols, however, attracted many literati. Some of them produced travelogues of their experiences;

othersstayedtoserveMongolmasters.Theseindividualscamefromavarietyofbackgrounds–Buddhist,

Confucian,Christian,TurkishandMuslim.AlthoughnotalwaysfamiliarwithMongolcustoms,manyof

them produced sympathetic accounts – even eulogies – that challenged and complicated the otherwise

hostile,city-basedtiradeagainstthesteppemarauders.ThehistoryoftheMongols,therefore,provides

interestingdetails to question themannerinwhichsedentarysocietiesusually characterisednomads as

primitivebarbarians*.

Perhaps the most valuable research on the Mongols was done by Russian scholars starting in the

eighteenthandnineteenthcenturiesastheTsaristregimeconsolidateditscontroloverCentralAsia.This

work was produced within a colonial milieu and was largely survey notes produced by travellers,

soldiers, merchants and antiquarian scholars. In the early twentieth century, after the extension of the

sovietrepublicsintheregion,anewMarxisthistoriographyarguedthattheprevalentmodeofproduction

determinedthenatureofsocialrelations.ItplacedGenghisKhanandtheemergingMongolempirewithin

ascaleofhumanevolutionthatwaswitnessingatransitionfromatribaltoafeudalmodeofproduction:

fromarelativelyclasslesssocietytoonewheretherewerewidedifferencesbetweenthelord,theowners

of land and the peasant. Despite following such a deterministic interpretation of history, excellent

research on Mongol languages, their society and culture was carried out by scholars such as Boris

YakovlevichVladimirtsov.OtherssuchasVasilyVladimirovichBartolddidnotquitetoetheofficialline.

AtatimewhentheStalinistregimewasextremelywaryofregionalnationalism,Bartold’ssympathetic

and positive assessment of the career and achievements of the Mongols under Genghis Khan and his

successorsgothimintotroublewiththecensors.Itseverelycurtailedthecirculationoftheworkofthe

scholaranditwasonlyinthe1960s,duringandafterthemoreliberalKhruschevera,thathiswritings

werepublishedinninevolumes.

The transcontinental span of the Mongol empire also meant that the sources available to scholars are

writteninavastnumberoflanguages.PerhapsthemostcrucialarethesourcesinChinese,Mongolian,

PersianandArabic,butvitalmaterialsarealsoavailableinItalian,Latin,FrenchandRussian.

Oftenthesametextwasproducedintwolanguageswithdifferingcontents.Forexample,theMongolian

and Chinese versionsof theearliest narrative on Genghis Khan,titled Mongqol-un niuèatobèa’an The

Secret History of the Mongols are quite different and the Italian and Latin versions of Marco Polo’s

travelstotheMongolcourtdonotmatch.SincetheMongolsproducedlittleliteratureontheirownand

wereinstead‘writtenabout’byliteratifromforeignculturalmilieus,historianshavetooftendoubleas

philologists to pick out the meanings of phrases for their closest approximation to Mongol usage. The

workofscholarslikeIgordeRachewiltzonTheSecretHistoryoftheMongolsandGerhardDoerferon

Mongol and Turkic terminologies that infiltrated into the Persian language brings out the difficulties

involvedinstudyingthehistoryoftheCentralAsiannomads.Aswewillnoticethroughtheremainderof

this chapter, despite their incredible achievements there is much about Genghis Khan and the Mongol

worldempirestillawaitingthediligentscholar’sscrutiny.

*The term ‘barbarian’ is derived from the Greek barbaros which meant a non-Greek, someone whose language sounded like a

random noise: ‘bar-bar’. In Greek texts, barbarians were depicted like children, unable to speak or reason properly, cowardly,

effeminate, luxurious,cruel, slothful,greedyand politically unableto governthemselves.Thesterotypepassed totheRomanswho

usedthetermfortheGermanictribes,theGaulsandtheHuns.TheChinesehaddifferenttermsforthesteppebarbariansbutnoneof

themcarriedapositivemeaning.

Map1:TheMongolEmpire

Introduction

Intheearlydecadesofthe thirteenthcenturythegreatempiresoftheEuro-Asiancontinentrealisedthe

dangersposedtothem bythearrivalof anewpoliticalpowerinthesteppesofCentralAsia:Genghis

Khan(d.1227)hadunitedtheMongolpeople.GenghisKhan’spoliticalvision,however,wentfarbeyond

thecreationofaconfederacyofMongol

tribesinthesteppesofCentralAsia:hehadamandatefromGodtoruletheworld.Eventhoughhisown

lifetimewasspentconsolidating hisholdovertheMongoltribes,leading anddirecting campaigns into

adjoining areas in north China, Transoxiana, Afghanistan, eastern Iran and the Russian steppes, his

descendants travelled further afield to fulfil Genghis Khan’s vision and create the largest empire the

worldhadeverseen.

ItwasinthespiritofGenghisKhan’sidealsthathisgrandsonMongke(1251-60)warnedtheFrenchruler,

LouisIX(1226-70):‘InHeaventhereisonlyoneEternalSky,onEarththereisonlyoneLord,Genghis

Khan,theSonofHeaven…WhenbythepoweroftheEternalHeaventhewholeworldfromtherisingof

thesuntoitssettingshallbeatoneinjoyandpeace,thenitwillbemadeclearwhatwearegoingtodo:

if when you have understoodthedecree of theEternal Heaven, you are unwilling to pay attention and

believe it, saying, “Our country is far away, our mountains are mighty, our sea is vast”, and in this

confidenceyoubringanarmyagainstus,weknowwhatwecando.Hewhomadeeasywhatwasdifficult

andnearwhatwasfaroff,theEternalHeavenknows.’

Thesewere not empty threats and the 1236-41 campaigns of Batu, another grandson of Genghis Khan,

devastatedRussianlandsuptoMoscow,seizedPolandandHungaryandcampedoutsideVienna.Inthe

thirteenthcenturyitdidseemthattheEternalSkywasonthesideoftheMongolsandmanypartsofChina,

theMiddleEastandEuropesawinGenghisKhan’sconquestsoftheinhabitedworldthe‘wrathofGod’,

thebeginningoftheDayofJudgement.

TheCaptureofBukhara

Juwaini,alate-thirteenth-centuryPersianchronicleroftheMongolrulersofIran,carriedanaccountofthecaptureofBukharain1220.

Aftertheconquestofthecity,Juwainireported,GenghisKhanwenttothefestivalgroundwheretherichresidentsofthecitywereand

addressedthem:‘Opeopleknowthatyouhavecommittedgreatsins,andthatthegreatonesamongyouhavecommittedthesesins.If

youaskmewhatproofIhaveforthesewords,IsayitisbecauseIamthepunishmentofGod.Ifyouhadnotcommittedgreatsins,God

wouldnot have sent a punishment like me uponyou’…Now oneman had escaped from Bukharaafterits capture andhad come to

Khurasan.He was questioned about the fate ofthe city and replied: ‘They came, they [mined the walls], they burnt, they slew, they

plunderedandtheydeparted.’

Activity1

AssumethatJuwaini’saccountofthecaptureofBukharaisaccurate.Imagineyourself

asaresidentofBukharaandKhurasanwhoheardthespeeches.Whatimpactwould

theyhavehadonyou?

HowdidtheMongolscreateanempirethatdwarfedtheachievementsoftheother‘WorldConqueror’,

Alexander?Inapre-industrialageofpoortechnologicalcommunications,whatskillsweredeployedby

theMongolstoadministerandcontrolsuchavastdominion?Forsomeonesoself-confidentlyawareof

his moral, divinely-dispensed right to rule, how did Genghis Khan relate to the diverse social and

religious groups that comprised his dominion? In the making of his imperium what happened to this

plurality?Weneedtostartourdiscussion,however,withahumblersetofquestionstobettercomprehend

thesocialandpoliticalbackgroundoftheMongolsandGenghisKhan:whoweretheMongols?Where

didtheylive?Whodidtheyinteractwithandhowdoweknowabouttheirsocietyandpolitics?

SocialandPoliticalBackground

TheMongolswereadiversebodyofpeople,linkedbysimilaritiesoflanguagetotheTatars,Khitanand

Manchus to the east, and the Turkic tribes to the west. Some of the Mongols were pastoralists while

otherswerehunter-gatherers.The pastoraliststendedhorses,sheepand,toalesserextent,cattle, goats

andcamels.TheynomadisedinthesteppesofCentralAsiainatractoflandinthearea ofthemodern

stateofMongolia.Thiswas(andstillis)amajesticlandscapewithwidehorizons,rollingplains,ringed

bythesnow-cappedAltaimountainstothewest,thearidGobidesertinthesouthanddrainedbytheOnon

andSelengariversandmyriadspringsfromthemeltingsnowsofthehillsinthenorthandthewest.Lush,

luxuriantgrassesforpastureandconsiderablesmallgamewereavailableinagoodseason.Thehunter-

gatherersresidedtothenorthofthepastoralistsintheSiberianforests.

Ononriverplaininflood.

Theywereahumblerbodyofpeoplethanthepastoralists,makingalivingfromtradeinfursofanimals

trapped in the summer months. There were extremes of temperature in the entire region: harsh, long

winters followed by brief, dry summers. Agriculture was possiblein the pastoral regionsduring short

partsoftheyearbuttheMongols(unlikesomeoftheTurksfurtherwest)didnottaketofarming.Neither

the pastoral nor the hunting-gathering economies could sustain dense population settlements and as a

resulttheregionpossessednocities.TheMongolslivedintents,gers,andtravelledwiththeirherdsfrom

theirwintertosummerpasturelands.

EthnicandlanguagetiesunitedtheMongolpeoplebutthescarcereso7urcesmeantthattheirsocietywas

divided into patrilineal lineages; the richer families were larger, possessed more animals and pasture

lands. They therefore had many followers and weremore influential inlocal politics. Periodic natural

calamities – either unusually harsh, cold winters when game and stored provisions ran out or drought

which parched the grasslands – would force families to forage further afield leading to conflict over

pasturelandsandpredatoryraidsinsearchoflivestock.Groupsoffamilieswouldoccasionallyallyfor

offensive and defensive purposes around richer and more powerful lineages but, barring the few

exceptions, these confederacies were usually small and short-lived. The size of Genghis Khan’s

confederation ofMongol and Turkish tribes was perhaps matched in size only by that which had been

stitchedtogetherinthefifthcenturybyAttila(d.453).

UnlikeAttila,however,GenghisKhan’spoliticalsystemwasfarmoredurableandsurviveditsfounder.It

wasstableenoughtocounterlargerarmieswithsuperiorequipmentinChina,IranandeasternEurope.

And, as they established control over these regions, the Mongols administered complex agrarian

economies and urban settlements – sedentary societies – that were quite distant from their own social

experienceandhabitat.

Listed below are some of the great Central Asian steppe confederacies of the Turks and Mongol

people. They did not all occupy the sameregion and were not equally large and complex in their

internalorganisation. Theyhadaconsiderableimpactonthe historyof thenomadicpopulationbut

theirimpactonChinaandtheadjoiningregionsvaried.

Hsiung-nu(200bce)(Turks)

Juan-juan(400ce)(Mongols)EpthaliteHuns(400ce)(Mongols)T’u-chueh(550ce)(Turks)

Uighurs(740ce)(Turks)

Khitan(940ce)(Mongols)



Although the social and political organisations of the nomadic and agrarian economies were very

different, thetwo societies werehardlyforeigntoeach other.In fact,thescantresources ofthesteppe

landsdroveMongolsandotherCentralAsiannomadstotradeandbarterwiththeirsedentaryneighbours

inChina.Thiswasmutuallybeneficialtobothparties:agriculturalproduceandironutensilsfromChina

wereexchangedforhorses,fursandgametrappedinthesteppe.Commercewasnotwithoutitstensions,

especiallyasthetwogroupsunhesitatinglyappliedmilitarypressuretoenhanceprofit.WhentheMongol

lineages allied they could force their Chinese neighbours to offer better terms and trade ties were

sometimesdiscardedinfavourofoutrightplunder.ThisrelationshipwouldalterwhentheMongolswere

indisarray.TheChinesewouldthenconfidentlyasserttheirinfluenceinthesteppe.Thesefrontierwars

weremoredebilitatingtosettledsocieties.Theydislocatedagricultureandplunderedcities.Nomads,on

theotherhand,couldretreatawayfromthezoneofconflictwithmarginallosses.Throughoutitshistory,

China suffered extensively from nomad intrusion and different regimes – even as early as the eighth

century bce – built fortifications to protect their subjects. Starting from the third century bce, these

fortificationsstartedtobeintegratedintoacommondefensiveoutworkknowntodayasthe‘GreatWallof

China’ a dramatic visual testament to the disturbance and fear perpetrated by nomadic raids on the

agrariansocietiesofnorthChina.

TheGreatWallofChina.



TheCareerofGenghisKhan

GenghisKhanwasbornsometimearound1162neartheOnonriverinthenorthofpresent-dayMongolia.

NamedTemujin,hewasthesonofYesugei,thechieftainoftheKiyat,agroupoffamiliesrelatedtothe

Borjigidclan. His fatherwasmurdered atan early age and his mother, Oelun-eke, raisedTemujin,his

brothersandstep-brothersingreathardship.Thefollowingdecadewasfullofreversals–Temujinwas

capturedandenslavedandsoonafterhismarriage,hiswife,Borte,waskidnapped,andhehadtofightto

recover her. During these years of hardship he also managed to make important friends. The young

Boghurchu was his first ally and remained a trusted friend; Jamuqa, his blood-brother (anda), was

another.TemujinalsorestoredoldallianceswiththeruleroftheKereyits,Tughril/OngKhan,hisfather’s

oldblood-brother.

Through the 1180s and 1190s, Temujin remained an ally of Ong Khan and used the alliance to defeat

powerfuladversarieslikeJamuqa,hisoldfriendwhohadbecomeahostilefoe.Itwasafterdefeatinghim

that Temujin felt confident enough to move against other tribes: the powerful Tatars (his father’s

assassins),theKereyits and Ong Khanhimself in1203. The finaldefeat ofthe Naimanpeople and the

powerfulJamuqain1206,leftTemujinasthedominantpersonalityinthepoliticsofthesteppelands,a

positionthatwasrecognisedatanassemblyofMongolchieftains(quriltai)wherehewasproclaimedthe

‘Great Khan of the Mongols’ (Qa’an) with the title Genghis Khan, the ‘Oceanic Khan’ or ‘Universal

Ruler’.

Justbeforethequriltaiof1206,GenghisKhanhadreorganisedtheMongolpeopleintoamoreeffective,

disciplinedmilitaryforce(seefollowingsections)thatfacilitatedthesuccessofhisfuturecampaigns.The

firstofhisconcernswastoconquerChina,dividedatthistimeintothreerealms:theHsiHsiapeopleof

Tibetan origin in the north-western provinces; the Jurchen whose Chin dynasty ruled north China from

Peking;theSungdynastywhocontrolledsouthChina.By1209,theHsiHsiaweredefeated,the‘Great

WallofChina’wasbreachedin1213andPekingsackedin1215.Long-drawn-outbattlesagainsttheChin

continueduntil1234butGenghisKhanwassatisfiedenoughwiththeprogressofhiscampaignstoreturn

tohisMongolianhomelandin1216andleavethemilitaryaffairsoftheregiontohissubordinates.

Afterthedefeatin1218oftheQaraKhitawhocontrolledtheTienShanmountainsnorth-westofChina,

Mongol dominions reached the Amu Darya, and the states of Transoxiana and Khwarazm. Sultan

Muhammad, the ruler of Khwarazm, felt the fury of Genghis Khan’s rage when he executed Mongol

envoys.Inthecampaignsbetween1219and 1221thegreatcities– Otrar, Bukhara, Samarqand,Balkh,

Gurganj, Merv, Nishapur and Herat – surrendered to the Mongol forces. Towns that resisted were

devastated. AtNishapur, where a Mongol prince waskilled during the siege operation, Genghis Khan

commandedthatthe‘townshouldbelaidwasteinsuchamannerthatthesitecouldbeploughedupon;and

thatintheexactionofvengeance[forthedeathoftheprince]notevencatsanddogsshouldbeleftalive’.

EstimatedExtentofMongolDestruction

AllreportsofGenghisKhan’scampaignsagreeatthevastnumberofpeoplekilledfollowingthecaptureofcitiesthatdefiedhisauthority.

Thenumbersarestaggering:atthecaptureofNishapurin1220,1,747,000peopleweremassacredwhilethetollatHeratin1222was

1,600,000 peopleandat Baghdad in 1258, 800,000. Smallertownssuffered proportionately: Nasa, 70,000dead;Baihaq district,70,000;

andatTunintheKuhistanprovince,12,000individualswereexecuted.

Howdidmedievalchroniclersarriveatsuchfigures?

Juwaini,thePersianchronicler of theIlkhansstated that1,300,000people werekilled inMerv.Hereached the figurebecause ittook

thirteendaystocountthedeadandeachdaytheycounted100,000corpses.

Mongol forces in pursuit of Sultan Muhammad pushed into Azerbaijan, defeated Russian forces at the

Crimea and encircled the Caspian Sea. Another wing followed the Sultan’s son, Jalaluddin, into

Afghanistan and the Sindh province. At the banks of the Indus, Genghis Khan considered returning to

MongoliathroughNorthIndiaandAssam,buttheheat,thenaturalhabitatandtheillportentsreportedby

hisShamansoothsayermadehimchangehismind.

GenghisKhandiedin1227,havingspentmostofhislifeinmilitarycombat.Hismilitaryachievements

wereastoundingandtheywerelargelyaresultofhisabilitytoinnovateandtransformdifferentaspectsof

steppecombatintoextremelyeffectivemilitarystrategies.Thehorse-ridingskillsoftheMongolsandthe

Turksprovidedspeedandmobilitytothearmy;theirabilitiesasrapi7d-shootingarchersfromhorseback

werefurtherperfectedduringregularhuntingexpeditionswhichdoubledasfieldmanoeuvres.Thesteppe

cavalryhadalwaystravelledlightandmovedquickly,butnowitbroughtallitsknowledgeoftheterrain

andtheweathertodotheunimaginable:theycarriedoutcampaignsinthedepthsofwinter,treatingfrozen

rivers ashighwaystoenemy citiesandcamps.Nomads wereconventionally at alossagainst fortified

encampments but Genghis Khan learnt the importance of siege engines and naphtha bombardment very

quickly. His engineers prepared lightportable equipment, which was used against opponents with

devastatingeffect.

Opp.page:‘Barbarians’asimaginedbyaEuropeanartist.

TheMongolsafterGenghisKhan

We can divide Mongol expansion after Genghis Khan’s death into two distinct phases: the first which

spannedtheyears1236-42whenthemajorgainswereintheRussiansteppes,Bulghar,Kiev,Polandand

Hungary.Thesecondphaseincludingtheyears1255-1300ledtotheconquestofallofChina(1279),Iran,

IraqandSyria.Thefrontieroftheempirestabilisedafterthesecampaign.

TheMongolmilitaryforcesmetwithfewreversalsinthedecadesafter1203but,quitenoticeably,after

the 1260s the original impetus of campaignscould not be sustained in the West. Although Vienna, and

beyonditwesternEurope,aswellasEgyptwaswithinthegraspofMongolforces,theirretreatfromthe

HungariansteppesanddefeatatthehandsoftheEgyptianforcessignalledtheemergenceofnewpolitical

trends.Thereweretwofacetstothis:thefirstwasaconsequenceoftheinternalpoliticsofsuccession

withintheMongolfamilywherethedescendantsofJochiandOgodeialliedtocontroltheofficeofthe

greatKhaninthefirsttwogenerations.Theseinterestsweremoreimportantthanthepursuitofcampaigns

inEurope.ThesecondcompulsionoccurredastheJochiandOgodeilineagesweremarginalisedbythe

Toluyidbranchof Genghis Khanid descendants.With theaccession of Mongke, a descendant of Toluy,

Genghis Khan’s youngestson, military campaigns were pursued energetically in Iranduring the1250s.

ButasToluyidinterestsintheconquestofChinaincreasedduringthe1260s,forcesandsupplieswere

increasingly diverted into the heartlands of the Mongol dominion. As a result, the Mongols fielded a

small,understaffedforceagainsttheEgyptianmilitary.Theirdefeatandtheincreasingpreoccupationwith

ChinaoftheToluyidfamilymarkedtheendofwesternexpansionoftheMongols.Concurrently,conflict

betweentheJochidandToluyiddescendantsalongtheRussian-IranianfrontierdivertedtheJochidsaway

fromfurtherEuropeancampaigns.

The suspension of Mongol expansion in the West did not arrest their campaigns in China which was

reunited under the Mongols. Paradoxically, it was at the moment of its greatest successes that internal

turbulencebetweenmembersoftherulingfamilymanifesteditself.Thenextsectiondiscussesthefactors

thatledtosomeofthegreatestsuccessesoftheMongolpoliticalenterprisebutalsoinhibiteditsprogress.

Social,PoliticalandMilitaryOrganisation

AmongtheMongols,andmanyothernomadicsocietiesaswell,alltheable-bodied,adultmalesofthe

tribeborearms:theyconstitutedthe armedforces whentheoccasiondemanded. Theunification of the

differentMongoltribesandsubsequentcampaignsagainstdiversepeopleintroducednewmembersinto

GenghisKhan’sarmycomplicatingthecompositionofthisrelativelysmall,undifferentiatedbodyintoan

incrediblyheterogeneousmassofpeople.ItincludedgroupsliketheTurkicUighurs,whohadaccepted

hisauthoritywillingly.Italsoincludeddefeatedpeople,liketheKereyits,whowereaccommodatedinthe

confederacydespitetheirearlierhostility.

GenghisKhanworkedtosystematicallyerasetheoldtribalidentitiesofthedifferentgroupswhojoined

hisconfederacy.Hisarmywasorganisedaccordingtotheoldsteppesystemofdecimalunits:indivisions

of10s,100s,1,000sand[notionally]10,000soldiers.Intheoldsystemtheclanandthetribewouldhave

coexisted within the decimal units. Genghis Khan stopped this practice. He divided the old tribal

groupingsanddistributedtheirmembersintonewmilitaryunits.Anyindividualwhotriedtomovefrom

his/her allotted group without permission received harsh punishment. The largest unit of soldiers,

approximating 10,000 soldiers (tuman) now included fragmented groups of people from a variety of

differenttribesandclans.Thisalteredtheoldsteppesocialorderintegratingdifferentlineagesandclans

andprovidingthemwithanewidentityderivedfromitsprogenitor,GenghisKhan.

Thenewmilitarycontingentswererequiredtoserveunderhisfoursonsandspeciallychosencaptainsof

his army units callednoyan. Also important within the new realm were a band of followers who had

served Genghis Khan loyallythrough graveadversity formany years. Genghis Khan publicly honoured

some of these individuals as his ‘blood-brothers’ (anda); yet others, freemen of a humbler rank, were

given special ranking as his bondsmen (naukar), a title that marked their close relationship with their

master.Thisrankingdidnotpreservetherightsoftheoldclanchieftains;thenewaristocracyderivedits

statusfromacloserelationshipwiththeGreatKhanoftheMongols.

Inthisnewhierarchy,GenghisKhanassignedtheresponsibilityofgoverningthenewlyconqueredpeople

to his four sons. These comprised the four ulus, a term that did not originally mean fixed territories.

Genghis Khan’s lifetime was still the age of rapid conquests and expanding domains, where frontiers

werestillextremelyfluid.Forexample,theeldestson,Jochi,receivedtheRussiansteppesbutthefarthest

extent of his territory,ulus, was indeterminate: it extended as far west as his horses could roam. The

second son, Chaghatai, was given the Transoxianian steppe and lands north of the Pamir mountains

adjacenttothoseofhisbrother.Presumably,theselandswouldshiftasJochimarchedwestward.Genghis

Khanhadindicatedthathisthirdson,Ogodei,wouldsucceedhimastheGreatKhanandonaccessionthe

Prince established his capital at Karakorum. The youngest son, Toluy, received the ancestral lands of

Mongolia.GenghisKhanenvisagedthathissonswouldruletheempirecollectively,andtounderlinethis

point, military contingents (tama) of the individual princes were placed in each ulus. The sense of a

dominion shared by the members of the family was underlined at the assembly of chieftains, quriltais,

wherealldecisionsrelatingtothefamilyorthestatefortheforthcomingseason–campaigns,distribution

ofplunder,pasturelandsandsuccession–werecollectivelytaken.

GenghisKhanhadalreadyfashionedarapidcouriersystemthatconnectedthedistantareasofhisregime.

Fresh mounts and despatch riders were placed in outposts at regularly spaced distances. For the

maintenanceofthiscommunicationsystemtheMongolnomadscontributedatenthoftheirherd–either

horsesorlivestock–asprovisions.Thiswascalledthequbcurtax,alevythatthenomadspaidwillingly

for the multiple benefits that it brought. The courier system (yam) was further refined after Genghis

Khan’sdeathanditsspeedandreliabilitysurprisedtravellers.ItenabledtheGreatKhanstokeepacheck

ondevelopmentsatthefarthestendoftheirregimeacrossthecontinentallandmass.

Theconqueredpeople,however,hardlyfeltasenseofaffinitywiththeirnewnomadicmasters.During

the campaigns in the first half of the thirteenth century, cities were destroyed, agricultural lands laid

waste,tradeandhandicraftproductiondisrupted.Tensofthousandsofpeople–theexactfiguresarelost

intheexaggeratedreportsofthetime–werekilled,evenmoreenslaved.Allclassesofpeople,fromthe

elitestothepeasantrysuffered.Intheresultinginstability,theundergroundcanals,calledqanats,inthe

aridIranianplateaucouldnolongerreceiveperiodicmaintenance.Astheyfellintodisrepair,thedesert

creptin.ThisledtoanecologicaldevastationfromwhichpartsofKhurasanneverrecovered.

FamilytreeofGenghisKhan.

Oncethedustfromthecampaignshadsettled,EuropeandChinawereterritoriallylinked.Inthepeace

usheredinbyMongolconquest(PaxMongolica)tradeconnectionsmatured.Commerceandtravelalong

theSilkRoutereacheditspeakundertheMongolsbut,unlikebefore,thetraderoutesdidnotterminatein

China.

TheycontinuednorthintoMongoliaandtoKarakorum,theheartofthenewempire.Communicationand

easeoftravelwasvitaltoretainthecoherenceoftheMongolregimeandtravellersweregivenapass

(paizainPersian;geregeinMongolian)forsafeconduct.Traderspaidthebajtaxforthesamepurpose,

allacknowledgingtherebytheauthorityoftheMongolKhan.

Map2:TheMongolCampaigns

The contradictions between the nomadic and sedentary elements wit7hin the Mongol empire eased

through the thirteenth century. In the 1230s, for example, as the Mongols waged their successful war

againsttheChindynastyinnorthChina,therewasastrongpressuregroupwithintheMongolleadership

thatadvocatedthemassacreofallpeasantryandtheconversionoftheirfieldsintopasturelands.Butby

the 1270s, when south China was annexed to the Mongol empire after the defeat of the Sung dynasty,

Genghis Khan’s grandson, Qubilai Khan (d. 1294), appeared as the protector of the peasants and the

cities.In the 1290s,theMongolrulerof Iran,Ghazan Khan(d.1304),adescendantofGenghisKhan’s

youngestsonToluy,warnedfamilymembersandothergeneralstoavoidpillagingthepeasantry.Itdidnot

leadtoastableprosperousrealm,headvisedinaspeechwhosesedentaryovertoneswouldhavemade

GenghisKhanshudder.

Activity2

NotetheareastraversedbytheSilkRouteandthegoodsthatwereavailabletotraders

alongtheway.Thismapdoesnotreflectoneoftheeasternterminalpointsofthesilk

routeduringtheheightofMongolpower.

Canyouplacethemissingcity?CouldithavebeenontheSilkRouteinthetwelfth

century?Whynot?

GhazanKhan’sSpeech

GhazanKhan(1295-1304)wasthefirstIl-KhanidrulertoconverttoIslam.HegavethefollowingspeechtotheMongol-Turkishnomad

commanders,aspeechthatwasprobablydraftedbyhisPersianwazirRashiduddinandincludedintheminister’sletters:

‘IamnotonthesideofthePersianpeasantry.Ifthereisapurposeinpillagingthemall,thereisnoonewithmorepowertodothisthanI.

Letusrobthemtogether.Butifyouwishtobecertainofcollectinggrainandfoodforyourtablesinthefuture,Imustbeharshwithyou.

Youmustbetaughtreason.Ifyouinsultthepeasantry,taketheiroxenandseedandtrampletheircropsintotheground,whatwillyoudo

inthefuture?…Theobedientpeasantrymustbedistinguishedfromthepeasantrywhoarerebels…’

From Genghis Khan’s reign itself, the Mongols had recruited civil administrators from the conquered

societies. They were sometimes moved around: Chinese secretaries deployed in Iran and Persians in

China.Theyhelpedinintegratingthedistantdominionsandtheirbackgroundsandtrainingwerealways

usefulinblunting the harsheredges ofnomadic predationonsedentary life. TheMongolKhans trusted

themaslongastheycontinuedtoraiserevenuefortheirmastersandtheseadministratorscouldsometimes

command considerable influence. In the 1230s, the Chinese minister Yeh-lu Ch’u-ts’ai, muted some of

Ogedei’smorerapaciousinstincts;theJuwainifamilyplayedasimilarroleinIranthroughthelatterhalf

of the thirteenth century and at the end of the century, the wazir, Rashiduddin, drafted the speech that

GhazanKhandeliveredtohisMongolcompatriotsaskingthemtoprotect,notharass,thepeasantry.

Activity3

Why was there a conflict of interests between pastoralists and peasants? Would

Genghis Khan have expressed sentiments of this nature in a speech to his nomad

commanders?

The pressure to sedentarise was greater in the new areas of Mongol domicile, areas distant from the

original steppe habitat of the nomads. By the middle of the thirteenth century the sense of a common

patrimony shared by all the brothers was gradually replaced by individual dynasties each ruling their

separateulus,atermwhichnowcarriedthesenseofaterritorialdominion.Thiswas,inpart,aresultof

succession struggles, where Genghis Khanid descendants competed for the office of Great Khan and

prizedpastorallands.DescendantsofToluyhadcometorulebothChinaandIranwheretheyhadformed

theYuanandIl-Khaniddynasties.DescendantsofJochiformedtheGoldenHordeandruledtheRussian

steppes; Chaghatai’s successorsruled the steppes of Transoxiana and the landscalled Turkistan today.

Noticeably, nomadic traditions persisted longest amongst the steppe dwellers in Central Asia

(descendantsofChaghatai)andRussia(theGoldenHorde).

ThegradualseparationofthedescendantsofGenghisKhanintoseparatelineagegroupsimpliedthattheir

connectionswiththememory

and traditions of a past family concordance also altered. At an obvious level this was the result of

competition amongst the cousin clans and here the Toluyid branch was more adept in presenting their

versionofthefamilydisagreementsinthehistoriesproducedundertheirpatronage.Toalargeextentthis

was a consequence of their control of China and Iran and the large number of literati that its family

members could recruit. At a more sophisticated level, the disengagement with the past also meant

underlining the merits of the regnant rulers as a contrast to other past monarchs. This exercise in

comparisondidnotexcludeGenghisKhanhimself.PersianchroniclesproducedinIl-KhanidIranduring

thelatethirteenthcenturydetailedthegorykillingsoftheGreatKhanandgreatlyexaggeratedthenumbers

killed.Forexample,incontrasttoaneyewitnessreportthat400soldiersdefendedthecitadelofBukhara,

anIl-Khanidchroniclereportedthat30,000soldierswerekilledintheattackonthecitadel.AlthoughIl-

KhanidreportsstilleulogisedGenghisKhan,theyalsocarriedastatementofreliefthattimeshadchanged

and the great killings of the past were over. The Genghis Khanid legacy was important, but for his

descendantstoappearasconvincingheroestoasedentaryaudience,theycouldnolongerappearinquite

thesamewayastheirancestor.

FollowingtheresearchofDavidAyalon,recentworkontheyasa,thecodeoflawthatGenghisKhanwas

supposedtohavepromulgatedatthequriltaiof1206,haselaboratedonthecomplexwaysinwhichthe

memory of the Great Khan was fashioned by his successors. In its earliest formulation the term was

writtenasyasaqwhichmeant‘law’,‘decree’or‘order’.Indeed,thefewd7etailsthatwepossessabout

theyasaqconcernadministrativeregulations:theorganisationofthehunt,thearmyandthepostalsystem.

Bythemiddleofthethirteenthcentury,however,theMongolshadstartedusingtherelatedtermyasaina

moregeneralsensetomeanthe‘legalcodeofGenghisKhan’.

Wemaybeabletounderstandthechangesinthemeaningofthetermifwetakealookatsomeoftheother

developments that occurred at the same time. By the middle of the thirteenth century the Mongols had

emergedasaunifiedpeopleandjustcreatedthelargestempiretheworldhadeverseen.Theyruledover

very sophisticated urban societies, with their respective histories, cultures and laws. Although the

Mongols dominated the region politically, theywerea numericalminority. The one way in which they

couldprotecttheiridentityanddistinctivenesswasthroughaclaimtoasacredlawgiventothembytheir

ancestor.TheyasawasinallprobabilityacompilationofthecustomarytraditionsoftheMongoltribes

butinreferringtoitasGenghisKhan’scodeoflaw,theMongolpeoplealsolaidclaimtoa‘lawgiver’

likeMosesandSolomon,whoseauthoritativecodecouldbeimposedontheirsubjects.Theyasaserved

tocoheretheMongolpeoplearoundabodyofsharedbeliefs,itacknowledgedtheiraffinitytoGenghis

Khanandhisdescendantsand,evenastheyabsorbeddifferentaspectsofasedentarylifestyle,gavethem

theconfidencetoretaintheirethnicidentityandimposetheir‘law’upontheirdefeatedsubjects.Itwasan

extremelyempoweringideologyandalthoughGenghisKhanmaynothaveplannedsuchalegalcode,it

wascertainlyinspiredbyhisvisionandwasvitalintheconstructionofaMongoluniversaldominion.

Yasa

In 1221, after the conquest of Bukhara, Genghis Khan had assembled the rich Muslim residents at the festival ground and had

admonishedthem.Hecalledthemsinnersandwarnedthemtocompensatefortheirsinsbypartingwiththeirhiddenwealth.Theepisode

was dramatic enough to be painted andfor alongtime afterwardspeople still rememberedtheincident. Inthelatesixteenth century,

‘AbdullahKhan,adistantdescendantofJochi,GenghisKhan’seldestson,wenttothesamefestivalgroundinBukhara.UnlikeGenghis

Khan,however,‘AbdullahKhanwenttoperformhisholidayprayersthere.Hischronicler,Hafiz-iTanish,reportedthisperformanceof

Muslimpietybyhismasterandincludedthesurprisingcomment:‘thiswasaccordingtotheyasaofGenghisKhan’.



Activity4

DidthemeaningofyasaalteroverthefourcenturiesseparatingGenghisKhanfrom

‘AbdullahKhan?WhydidHafiz-iTanishmakeareferencetoGenghisKhan’syasain

connectionwith‘AbdullahKhan’sprayerattheMuslimfestivalground?

Conclusion:SituatingGenghisKhanandtheMongolsinWorldHistory

WhenwerememberGenghisKhantodaytheonlyimagesthatappearinourimaginationarethoseofthe

conqueror,thedestroyerofcities,andanindividualwhowasresponsibleforthedeathofthousandsof

people.Manythirteenth-centuryresidentsoftownsinChina,IranandeasternEuropelookedatthehordes

fromthesteppeswithfearanddistaste.Andyet,fortheMongols,GenghisKhanwasthegreatestleaderof

alltime:heunitedtheMongolpeople,freedthemfrominterminabletribalwarsandChineseexploitation,

broughtthemprosperity,fashionedagrandtranscontinentalempireandrestoredtraderoutesandmarkets

thatattracteddistanttravellers liketheVenetianMarcoPolo.T7hecontrasting imagesarenot simplya

caseofdissimilarperspectives;theyshouldmakeuspauseandreflectonhowone(dominant)perspective

cancompletelyeraseallothers.

Beyondtheopinionsofthedefeatedsedentarypeople,considerforamomentthesheersizeoftheMongol

dominioninthethirteenthcenturyandthediversebodyofpeopleandfaithsthatitembraced.Althoughthe

Mongol Khans themselves belonged to a variety of different faiths – Shaman, Buddhist, Christian and

eventuallyIslam–theyneverlettheirpersonalbeliefsdictatepublicpolicy.TheMongolrulersrecruited

administratorsandarmedcontingentsfrompeopleofallethnicgroupsandreligions.Theirswasamulti-

ethnic,multilingual,multi-religiousregimethatdidnotfeelthreatenedbyitspluralisticconstitution.This

was utterly unusual forthe time, and historians are only now studying the ways in which the Mongols

providedideologicalmodelsforlaterregimes(liketheMughalsofIndia)tofollow.

The nature of the documentation on the Mongols – and any nomadic regime – makes it virtually

impossibletounderstandtheinspiration

that led to the confederation offragmented groups of peoplein the pursuit of an ambition tocreate an

empire.TheMongolempireeventuallyalteredinitsdifferentmilieus,buttheinspirationofitsfounder

remainedapowerfulforce.Attheendofthefourteenthcentury,Timur,anothermonarchwhoaspiredto

universaldominion,hesitatedtodeclarehimselfmonarchbecausehewasnotofGenghisKhaniddescent.

When he did declare his independent sovereignty it was as the son-in-law (guregen) of the Genghis

Khanidfamily.

Today,afterdecadesofSovietcontrol,thecountryofMongoliaisrecreatingitsidentityasanindependent

nation. It hasseized uponGenghisKhan as agreatnationalherowhoispubliclyveneratedandwhose

achievementsarerecountedwithpride.AtacrucialjunctureinthehistoryofMongolia,GenghisKhanhas

onceagainappearedasaniconicfigurefortheMongolpeople,mobilisingmemoriesofagreatpast

intheforgingofnationalidentitythatcancarrythenationintothefuture.

TheCaptureofBaghdadbytheMongols,aminiaturepaintingintheChroniclesofRashidal-Din,Tabriz,fourteenthcentury.

QubilaiKhanandChabiincamp.

Exercises

Answerinbrief

1.WhywastradesosignificanttotheMongols?

2. Why did Genghis Khan feel the need to fragment the Mongol tribes into new social and military

groupings?

3. How do later Mongol reflections on the yasa bring out the uneasy relationship they had with the

memoryofGenghisKhan.

4.‘Ifhistoryreliesuponwrittenrecordsproducedbycity-basedliterati,nomadicsocietieswillalways

receivea hostilerepresentation.’Wouldyou agree withthisstatement? Doesit explainthe reason why

PersianchroniclesproducedsuchinflatedfiguresofcasualtiesresultingfromMongolcampaigns?

Answerinashortessay

5.KeepingthenomadicelementoftheMongolandBedouinsocietiesinmind,how,inyouropinion,did

their respective historical experiences differ? What explanations would you suggest account for these

differences?

6. How does the following account enlarge upon the character of the Pax Mongolica created by the

Mongolsbythemiddleofthethirteenthcentury?

TheFranciscanmonk,WilliamofRubruck,wassentbyLouisIXofFranceonanembassytothegreat

KhanMongke’scourt.HereachedKarakorum,thecapitalofMongke,in1254andcameuponawoman

fromLorraine(inFrance)calledPaquette,whohadbeenbroughtfromHungaryandwasintheservice

ofoneoftheprince’s wiveswho wasaNestorianChristian. Atthecourthecameacrossa Parisian

goldsmithnamedGuillaumeBoucher,‘whosebrotherdweltontheGrandPontinParis’.Thismanwas

firstemployedbytheQueenSorghaqtaniandthenbyMongke’syoungerbrother.Rubruckfoundthatat

the great court festivals the Nestorian priests were admitted first, with their regalia, to bless the

GrandKhan’scup,andwerefollowedbytheMuslimclergyandBuddhistandTaoistmonks…